Blagojevich lawyers, prosecutors take final steps

Prosecutors and defense attorneys largely completed the painstaking process on Friday of crafting jury instructions in the corruption trial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, paving the way for closing arguments next week.

U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel ordered attorneys to e-mail minor changes to each other and to him over the weekend, but those changes won't delay the closings on Monday.

Jurors will use the instructions when they start deliberations next week.

Blagojevich wasn't required to be in court. At one point, a clerk called the former governor at home so the judge could ask if he had authorized another lawyer to sit in on discussions on his behalf. Blagojevich responded, "Yes, your honor" in the call played over courtroom speakers.

Much of the discussion at the conference was highly technical and nuanced -- following well-defined guidelines drawn up by courts over the years.

At one point, defense attorneys tried to insert an instruction that mentioned all the witnesses who prosecutors could have called but did not, including President Barack Obama. The defense wanted to tell jurors that they could infer that those witnesses would have said things that were hurtful to the government's case.

Zagel countered that the defense also could have called the witnesses and didn't, noting that some witnesses don't necessarily help either side. For example, convicted political fixer Tony Rezko, who was expected to testify for the government, is "toxic to whoever calls him," Zagel said.

The judge warned defense attorneys not to try making the point about witnesses during their closing arguments.

"If you do start down that path, you'll regret it," he said.

Another issue was language about what is referred to as the "ostrich instruction," which explains to jurors what they can and can't infer from defendants essentially saying they had their head stuck in the sand and didn't know about illegalities going on around them.

The courtroom Friday was largely empty, with just a few reporters looking on, compared to packed courtroom benches during the witness stage of the trial.

Blagojevich, 53, has pleaded not guilty to scheming to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama's former Senate seat for a Cabinet post, a high-paying job outside government or a big campaign donation. He also pleaded not guilty to plotting to launch a racketeering operation in the governor's office.

His brother, Robert Blagojevich, a 54-year-old Nashville, Tenn., businessman, has pleaded not guilty to taking part in the alleged Senate seat scheme and to pressuring businessmen for campaign contributions.