Althouse: "[A] female juror ... was the lone holdout on convicting Blagojevich of attempting to sell the Senate seat 'wanted clear-cut evidence, and not everything was clear-cut.'"

August 18, 2010

"[A] female juror ... was the lone holdout on convicting Blagojevich of attempting to sell the Senate seat 'wanted clear-cut evidence, and not everything was clear-cut.'"

According to one juror.

48 comments:

TMink said...: The fix was in. What a surprise, and in Chicago!?!?!?!

Trey; 8/18/10, 8:57 AM
lemondog said...: Yes, the fix was in.

Blago's hair should have been evidence enuff for a conviction on all counts.; 8/18/10, 9:02 AM
Scott said...: Yeah, I hope the FBI is discreetly looking at this woman's bank accounts for any large deposits.

Then again, Blago is a Democrat, and as we all know, Democrats get a pass.; 8/18/10, 9:03 AM
garage mahal said...: Are we going to hear an apology from the right??; 8/18/10, 9:06 AM
Scott said...: And who on the right will be issuing this apology? :); 8/18/10, 9:08 AM
garage mahal said...: Well, in the Tom Delay thread liberals were asked repeatedly to apologize.; 8/18/10, 9:14 AM
Scott M said...: I want to know why a jury in a case like this was sequestered...especially in an environment like the one in Illinois.

Garage, do you really think this guy is clean? Further, are you going to step up and apologize for Delay? You can drop the sanctimonious crap. Blago is as dirty as they come.; 8/18/10, 9:15 AM
bagoh20 said...: I apologize. This proves he was innocent. I'm embarrassed by my suspicious nature. I don't know why we ever suspected him. He was always a good and decent man. Let's elect him to the Senate. Democrats are cool, ethical and good, but someone should check that juror's freezer.; 8/18/10, 9:19 AM
Big Mike said...: @garage, please hold your breath waiting for one.; 8/18/10, 9:21 AM
Scott said...: @bagoh20: LOL; 8/18/10, 9:27 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: Are we going to hear an apology from the right??

Sure, right after the left apologizes for the things they said about Scooter Libby. After all he, like Blagojevich, was only convicted of lying to investigators.; 8/18/10, 9:28 AM
Scott said...: @Big Mike: Zombies can hold their breath forever.; 8/18/10, 9:28 AM
chuck b. said...: There was a juror like that on the jury with me for 5 weeks in federal court last year. She was unwilling to make any Inferences. We could only reach a unanimous verdict on 4 out of 50 something counts. Later in conversation with the prosecutors, they asked me if maybe she had a thing for one of the defense attorneys. Apparently there was some questionable smiling going on.; 8/18/10, 9:36 AM
garage mahal said...: Alright bagoh20!

Nice work. Thanks.; 8/18/10, 9:38 AM
Brian said...: @garage:
Blagojevich was impeached by the Illinois state legislature, 114-1. Do the Democrats that impeached him owe him an apology too? Or is it only the Republicans that voted for impeachment?

He was removed from office by a 59-0 vote in the state senate. Again, is it only the Republicans that owe him an apology?; 8/18/10, 9:40 AM
lemondog said...: The fix was in. What a surprise, and in Chicago!?!?!?!

Think the fix was only local?

re: Blago hair, do jury members need to be sighted?

Just wonderin'.; 8/18/10, 9:42 AM
Cedarford said...: American justice, derived from the Sacred Parchment itself!

The envy of the world for 200 years as they assiduously avoid ever emulating it or the Sacred Parchment.; 8/18/10, 10:00 AM
MadisonMan said...: This proves he was innocent.

That's not how it works.

I am glad to see that Scott @ 903 matches my cynicism re: A buyout :) A relief to know I'm not the only one. Of course, I wasn't watching the testimony, and maybe the prosecutors really didn't make the case.; 8/18/10, 10:03 AM
Scott M said...: American justice, derived from the Sacred Parchment itself!

The envy of the world for 200 years as they assiduously avoid ever emulating it or the Sacred Parchment.

So, what, C4? We put him on a big set of scales with a duck to see who's heavier?; 8/18/10, 10:03 AM
lemondog said...: Quinn on Blagojevich conviction: 'Sad day for our state'
“That is all that we should talk about today," Quinn said. "The other 23 counts that are unresolved have to be decided by another jury...Lying to the FBI, which was decided today, is a very serious matter.”

So it's not over 'til its over?

“It’s very, very important that we understand that honesty is the only policy when it comes to the governor’s office in Illinois," Quinn said. “My conscience always guides me to do the right thing.”

Burp

"My thought is really wondering what the jurors, what did they see?" said Kelly, a former state representative and now chief of staff for the state treasurer.

Again, re: hair, can the sightless serve as jurors?; 8/18/10, 10:12 AM
Unknown said...: The law says reasonable doubt. And it was there. Whether it was purchased or threatened into existence is another matter.

garage mahal said...

Are we going to hear an apology from the right??

Not yet.

He was convicted on one count, after all.

Besides, the Feds are going to give it another go.; 8/18/10, 10:21 AM
Beth said...: They need Jim Letten to run the next prosecution. He took down Edwin Edwards; this trial reminds me of earlier Edwards' trials, with comments that the prosecution was "all over the place" and not "clear-cut."; 8/18/10, 10:25 AM
jeff said...: So Garage is saying that corruption, as practiced by democrats, is only to be opposed by those on the right? Interesting to come clean on something like that. Usually it's denied.; 8/18/10, 10:34 AM
Anonymous said...: Garagae, DeLay was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Blago was convicted on one count, and will face a new trial on the others?

How do those equate?

Please, the sane among us want to know.; 8/18/10, 10:46 AM
traditionalguy said...: This is a great example of the Jury trial system working. The media versions that we have been fed are not what the jury hears. The need to prove crimes rather than to merely show that people can always be made to look suspicious about something should encourage every citizen living in these United States. Jury trial was instituted for and remains the only restraint upon easy criminal prosecution of every political opponent.; 8/18/10, 10:47 AM
TMink said...: Garage, do you really see this as a R and D issue? I don't at all. If he was an R I would be upset. Some things are more important than D and R. MUCH more important.

Trey; 8/18/10, 11:14 AM
former law student said...: Garagae, DeLay was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Delay was cleared of charges -- IOW he escaped scot-free.; 8/18/10, 11:32 AM
TMink said...: It seems to me that the only difference between corrupt D and R politicians are the flavor of the lies they tell.

Trey; 8/18/10, 11:55 AM
Big Mike said...: If I recall correctly, even before the last election stories about the corruption of the Karzai regime were being pushed in the newspapers. But wouldn't it be right and proper that before demanding that Afghanistan cleaned up its political system that here in the US we cleaned up places like Chicago, the Minnesota DFL, Detroit, etc.?

Just askin'; 8/18/10, 12:20 PM
Scott said...: "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Delay was cleared of charges -- IOW he escaped scot-free."

Escaped scot-free AFTER SIX YEARS OF INVESTIGATION BY THE DOJ, INCLUDING GRAND JURY APPEARANCES.

Dude, if that isn't "cleared" then nothing is. Give it up.

Then again, if you know something about the case that the DOJ doesn't, please get in touch with them.; 8/18/10, 12:30 PM
MadisonMan said...: Minnesota DFL

For some reason, I saw this and my brain read Minnesota NFL, as in the Vikings. Too much Favre news I guess :)

But I agree that someone really should clean up the Vikings!; 8/18/10, 12:37 PM
AC245 said...: Are we going to hear an apology from the right??

I apologize that Blagojevich was impeached by a vote of 113-1 by the Democrat-controlled Illinois House of Representatives, convicted by a vote of 59-0 by the Democrat-controlled Illinois Senate on the charges of abuse of power and corruption, and removed from office and barred from ever serving again because of the disgrace and disrepute he brought upon the office.

I also apologize that Blagojevich was found guilty in a court of law by a jury of his peers of lying to the FBI.

Finally, I apologize that Blagojevich still faces retrial on the other 23 counts of his original indictment.

(I'm not sure why anyone on "the right" should apologize for Democrat Blagojevich's proven corruption, abuse of power, and lies to a federal law enforcement agency, but there you go anyway.); 8/18/10, 1:01 PM
Big Mike said...: Are we going to hear an apology from the right??

I could do with an apology from Illinois Democrats for putting Balgojevich into office in the first place.; 8/18/10, 1:37 PM
Big Mike said...: @Madman, you guys can have Shanahan after he finishes cleaning up the Redskins.

Or we can trade you the team owner, Dan Snyder, for a used piece of toilet paper.; 8/18/10, 1:39 PM
Big Mike said...: Wait a second!!!

Madman, if you're from Madison aren't you a fan of the Packers??? (Best pro football team in the state, with the Badgers not far behind.)

Maybe Farve needs to clean up on you!; 8/18/10, 1:42 PM
Big Mike said...: The offer to swap Dan Snyder still holds either way.; 8/18/10, 1:42 PM
garage mahal said...: Sounds like Democrats are better at delivering justice that our justice system.

I was kidding about the apology actually. Blago is an effing slimeball.; 8/18/10, 2:05 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: He was still convicted of one count which carries a five year sentence.

Bye bye Blago.; 8/18/10, 4:15 PM
former law student said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/18/10, 4:29 PM
former law student said...: Dude, if that isn't "cleared" then nothing is. Give it up.

I'm going to wait to see how Delay's Travis County trial for money laundering shakes out, before I decide that Delay is "cleared of any wrongdoing."; 8/18/10, 4:31 PM
David said...: "Not clear cut . . . "

This from a juror who wanted to convict!

Sounds like some of them actually took the whole "reasonable doubt" thing seriously.

Good for them.; 8/18/10, 4:52 PM
Anonymous said...: Are we going to hear an apology from the right??

The moment all federal charges against Blagovitch are dropped by a DOJ headed by an AG from the opposite party, just like they were with Tom DeLay, or he's acquitted.

Oh, wait, he was actually convicted on one, and was acquitted on none. So, yeah, that means never.; 8/18/10, 5:40 PM
AST said...: 11 to 1? I think that the saying, "When everybody says you're drunk, you ought to sit down" may apply here. But since I'm unburdened by many facts, I'm willing to let it ride. On with the retrial!; 8/18/10, 6:40 PM
MadisonMan said...: Madman, if you're from Madison aren't you a fan of the Packers???

I live in Madison now; I grew up in a College town that was (and still is) completely gaga over football to the point of laughable foolhardiness. So I'm not a big football fan at all. I appreciate good plays. Immaculate Reception is one of my favorites, esp. because I have a fondness for Franco Harris (and Lydell Mitchell).

I will say that I'm going to my first Packer Game this year, on December 6th.; 8/18/10, 7:30 PM
Big Mike said...: @MadMan, I have four questions.

(1) If you're not a football fan, then why'd you bring up the Vikings?

(2) You're from the upper Midwest and don't like football!?!?!

(3) You're to a Packers game in December? Are you nuts!?!?!

I guess that was four questions, so here's a fifth:

(5) Are you interested in trading for Dan Snyder? No offer refused!; 8/18/10, 9:21 PM
Big Mike said...: Make that going to a football game.

But, c'mon, make me an offer for Dan Snyder.; 8/18/10, 9:23 PM
former law student said...: Both "attempt" and "conspiracy" are slippery concepts with hard-to-prove elements. Was Blago serious or just joking? Did he commit a "substantial step," in the case of attempt, or an "overt act," in the case of conspiracy.

I agree with the person who said the feds should have let Blago actually accept a bribe - that would have made prosecuting him much simpler.; 8/18/10, 11:59 PM
The Drill SGT said...: Big Mike said...
Make that going to a football game.

But, c'mon, make me an offer for Dan Snyder.

keep working it Mike. See if they'll trade owners. Packers and Skins.

FWIW, the Packers have the best owners in Football.; 8/19/10, 10:09 AM