U.S. attorney won't help impeachment effort
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald will not assist an impeachment effort against Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the federal prosecutor said in a letter to lawmakers made public Friday.
Fitzgerald asked lawmakers investigating impeachment to stay away from key Blagojevich aides and political advisers and declined to provide copies of wiretap applications or identify individuals referred to only in terms such as "Lobbyist 1" in the criminal complaint recently used to support the governor's arrest.
"With respect to your requests for documents - after careful consideration, we have concluded that producing those items at this time could significantly compromise the ongoing criminal investigation," Fitzgerald said in the letter.
He offered a similar response regarding access to witnesses who may be part of the federal corruption investigation of the governor.
"Any inquiry into these topics, as well as the taking of testimony from present and former members of the governor's staff, could significantly compromise the ongoing criminal investigation," Fitzgerald said in the letter.
Blagojevich was arrested at his Chicago home Dec. 9 on federal conspiracy charges that he tried to auction off President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat for personal gain, shake down a children's hospital and other businesses for campaign cash, and strong-arm the Tribune Co. into firing newspaper writers if it wanted state help in selling Wrigley Field.
Blagojevich has cast aside numerous calls for his resignation, said he's innocent and vowed to fight until his last breath.
Shortly after the governor's arrest, lawmakers announced they'd begin an impeachment investigation. But it's a complicated matter. They are restricted in what they can use because the federal case against the governor is still developing and has yet to be heard, let alone challenged, in open court.
If Fitzgerald gave lawmakers access to witnesses and documents, he'd also give Blagojevich's legal team an early peek into the case against the governor.
Still unresolved is whether federal authorities will give lawmakers wiretap recordings of conversations intercepted from Blagojevich's campaign office and home. Fitzgerald said that request is still under consideration.
Lawmakers investigating impeachment have said they will comply with Fitzgerald's recommendations and not push him to produce witnesses or documents for fear of fouling up the federal case.
This means the impeachment investigation in the House could be wrapped up and sent to members for a vote within weeks. Fitzgerald saw no problem with lawmakers pursuing potential abuse of power charges related to hiring fraud and the governor ignoring rules and constitutional responsibilities in spending taxpayers' money.
But that's ground lawmakers have already plowed in the first four days of hearings. They adjourned Thursday afternoon to await Fitzgerald's response and to give Blagojevich attorney Ed Genson a week to put together the governor's defense. So far the proceedings have largely been a rehash of widely reported court cases and audit findings critical of the governor's performance in office.
State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, who's running the impeachment investigation, said if lawmakers can't get into the federal criminal information, the panel could finish its work within two weeks and produce a report for the House.
If the House votes to impeach, which would require 60 votes out of 118, the case would go to the Illinois Senate for a trial. The chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court would preside. Senators would ultimately decide whether the governor should be removed from office. Doing so would require 40 votes in the 59-member Senate.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Related documents</h2> <ul class="morePdf"> <li><a href="/pdf/attorneyresponse1222.pdf">Prosecutor's letter to the committee </a></li> </ul> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=260128">Obama transition team releasing Blagojevich report</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=260177">Prosecutor limits Illinois governor impeachment probe </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>