Blagojevich to face fewer charges at April retrial

Prosecutors preparing for the corruption retrial of impeached Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich dropped three of the charges against him Thursday in an attempt to make the case easier for jurors to understand.

Eliminating two racketeering charges and a wire fraud count brings the number of counts Blagojevich will face from 23 to 20 when he is retried in April. Jurors at the first trial complained the case was too complicated, and prosecutors made a bid this week to U.S. District Judge James Zagel to drop some of the counts, saying they duplicated some accusations.

Blagojevich's attorneys agreed to the request at a hearing Thursday.

Blagojevich, 54, will be retried on charges including that he tried to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat. At his first trial, jurors deadlocked on all but one count, convicting Blagojevich of lying to the FBI. Jurors deliberated for 14 days, and several complained later that some charges were too complex and hard to follow. The racketeering count alone had dozens of subsections and multiple acts jurors had to sort through.

Blagojevich has characterized the move as good news, saying the "developments in court are three steps in the right direction in what has been a long and arduous journey for my wife, for my children and for me."

But legal observers say federal attorneys clearly hope that scratching the more intricate, convoluted counts will boost their chances of winning convictions. At minimum, it should sharply cut down on the book-sized, 100-plus page instructions that jurors relied on as a guide during deliberations at the first trial.

"It's a smart move," said Jeff Cramer, a former federal prosecutor in Chicago. "You get rid of God knows how many pages of jury instruction and yet you still have the same underlying conduct by Blagojevich in other charges."

Blagojevich could still face a stiff prison sentence if convicted. Each of 10 remaining wire fraud counts, for instance, carries a maximum 20-year prison term. That's also the maximum penalty for standing extortion and attempted extortion charges.

The highest profile accusation against Blagojevich — that he attempted to sell or trade Obama's old Senate seat — featured prominently in the now-struck racketeering count. However, it remains at the heart of a conspiracy to commit extortion charge that stays put.

The dropped racketeering count also incorporated an alleged shakedown that targeted former White House chief of staff and now Chicago Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel.

The accusation is that Blagojevich wanted to withhold grant money for a school in then-U.S. Rep. Emanuel's district unless his Hollywood-agent brother raised campaign cash for the governor. The allegation is still the focus of a remaining attempted extortion count.

Emanuel hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing in the case and he did not take the stand at the first trial. But he could be called as a witness either by prosecutors or the defense during the upcoming trial.

Also at Thursday's hearing, Zagel sharply criticized the media for "harassment" of jurors after Blagojevich's first trial ended hung on most counts. He cited some reporters who kept knocking on the doors of jurors' homes and, in one case, a TV helicopter hovering over one juror's residence. He said some jurors may be leery about serving at a second trial.

Zagel is considering how long he will keep jurors' names secret after the retrial. He said he was inclined to withhold them for 12 hours, but he didn't immediately announce a final decision.

Media groups have argued there is a compelling public interest in disclosing jurors' names as soon as possible, in part so reporters can help vet jurors' behavior during the trial and help determine if they reached a decision properly.

Reporters discovered only through interviews with jurors that a lone holdout stood in the way of a conviction of Blagojevich on charges he tried to sell or trade the Senate seat. Many fellow jurors, however, said they believed the holdout deliberated in good faith.

An attorney representing media organizations, James Klenk, argued before Zagel that dissuading jurors from speaking for hours or days would only keep the spotlight on them longer.