Governor declares trial a sham, likens arrest to Pearl Harbor

Gov. Rod Blagojevich is boycotting his own impeachment trial - calling it a sham and an attempt to "thwart the will of the people " - and he may even sue to stop it.

Blagojevich told reporters outside his Chicago home Thursday that the pending impeachment trial denies him basic rights, including due process and the ability to call defense witnesses. His attorney, Sam Adam Jr., later said he might file suit to stop the trial, set to start Monday.

And later Thursday he turned to the history books to describe the emotional strain his arrest put on him and his family.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Blagojevich compared his early morning December arrest by FBI agents to Japan's 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. He says it was a "complete surprise." And he says he'll prevail, just like the United States in World War II.

But senators who drew up the impeachment trial rules say the governor and his attorneys are off base. The governor is allowed to ask senators to subpoena witnesses for him, to cross-examine all witnesses, present documents and make closing arguments. So far, though, Blagojevich has skipped every deadline to take advantage of those options.

"That is just flat out untrue," said state Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Hinsdale Republican who helped write the trial rules. "The rules provide the governor all of the due process rights required under both the state and federal constitutions and then some."

Blagojevich said his boycott has nothing to do with defiance and "everything to do with respect for the office of the governor."

The governor says he wants to call former U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, now President Barack Obama's chief of staff, to testify. Emanuel has said his conversations with the governor about a Senate appointment were not inappropriate.

Yet, lead federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald asked lawmakers to not question those named in his criminal complaint against Blagojevich, like Emanuel.

The two-term governor was arrested last month on charges he tried to trade state business for personal gain, including a U.S. Senate appointment for campaign cash or a lucrative post-government job. The governor denies any wrongdoing.

Adam told the Associated Press that if he filed a lawsuit it would focus on the governor's ability to mount a defense under the trial rules and what he says is the impeachment's assumption that the federal charges against him are true.