Blago dumped by attorney; judge orders release of tapes

Gov. Rod Blagojevich launched a last ditch media blitz Friday to save his job, as his high-profile defense attorney jumped ship and a judge ordered his secretly recorded conversations released to lawmakers.

While still refusing to address the criminal charges against him or make his case before lawmakers weighing his fate, Blagojevich instead mounted a rhetorical attack on the process as unfair and called his opponents conspirators plotting to kick him out of office so they can raise taxes.

"All I ask for is fundamental fairness. It is called the presumption of innocence," Blagojevich said.

Continuing his pattern of drawing dramatic parallels to his struggles, the governor said his situation is like that of an honest cowboy wrongly accused of horse stealing and then being hung before having a chance to prove his innocence.

The previously recluse governor also appeared on a Chicago area radio program in his public campaign to discredit the impeachment trial, which is set to start Monday and could end with his ouster by the end of the week.

The two-term governor was expected to continue the media appearances into next week, perhaps even appearing on national morning shows like Good Morning America or The View.

Yet late Friday, the governor lost a key figure in his criminal defense case.

Lead defense attorney Ed Genson, who has defended high-profile mobsters and stars, said he was dumping Blagojevich as a client apparently because the governor wouldn't take his advice.

"I never require a client to do what I say. I do (ask) him to at least listen," he told reporters without elaborating.

The governor hired Genson following his arrest on Dec. 9 on charges he tried to trade state business, including a U.S. Senate seat, for personal gain. Federal prosecutors say they have it all on tape.

Genson's surprising decision came one day after there was clear disagreement between him and another Blagojevich attorney, Sam Adam Jr., about whether to sue to stop the impeachment process. Adam appeared to want to file suit while Genson said publicly they wouldn't.

His comments followed a federal judge's decision granting a request to release portions of FBI tapes to lawmakers. The tapes allegedly are conversations of the governor trying to solicit campaign cash for signing a law benefiting racetracks.

The tapes will be used in the impeachment trial against the governor.

Despite the mounting odds against him and his dwindling resources - campaign donations have dried up and his wife was fired this week, Blagojevich continues to fight on and try and appeal to voters.

In every appearance Friday he argued lawmakers were working to remove him because they want to raise taxes once he is gone.

"Political figures in Illinois are just waiting to get me out of the way to raise the income tax," he said.

Blagojevich said lawmakers are also upset he expanded health care programs, and he portrayed the upcoming trial as a conspiracy because he stood up for "working people."

"When they are hanging me ... they are hanging the 12 million people of Illinois who twice elected a governor," Blagojevich said at the news conference. "The heart and soul of this has been a struggle of me against the system."

This latest and potentially last campaign is classic Blagojevich, a governor who spent his six years in office painting himself as the hero of the people while vilifying those who opposed him as a dark force plotting in secret.

Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who will take over the state's top post if Blagojevich is ousted, called the conspiracy allegations a "figment of his imagination."

Are impeachment rules fair?

All the talk does not appear to be putting a dent in calls for Blagojevich's resignation, reaching as high as President Barack Obama, or the drive to remove him from office via impeachment.

"The rules are the rules," said Rikeeshi Phelon, spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat. "They are not about to be changed."

State Sen. Matt Murphy, a Palatine Republican, called Blagojevich's allegation that impeachment rules are unconstitutional "absurd." He pointed out they are based on the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, who was ultimately acquitted.

"They are fair rules," he said. "He will have a fair trial if he shows up."

Blagojevich claims the Senate's trial rules do not allow him to call certain witnesses and they also take as truth allegations made by federal prosecutors.

At the behest of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, lawmakers have agreed to not call witnesses that are part of the criminal case against Blagojevich.

Blagojevich says some of those witnesses will clear his name because they have publicly said they weren't aware of any scheme to trade a U.S. Senate seat for personal gain. They include U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett, and President Barack Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.

The governor also wants to call governors from other states and U.S. Sen. John McCain to back him up about his old push to import Canadian prescription drugs. That plan is part of the impeachment charges against him because it violated a court ruling.

State senators have pointed out the governor could submit public statements from Jackson, Jarrett and Emanuel, but he didn't. He is also allowed to call other governors and McCain.

"He could get them if they were willing to come in," Murphy said.

Murphy also argued that the prosecution's criminal allegations are not being taken as fact. They are part of the impeachment charges but each senator is charged with determining on their own if they believe it or not.

It will take 40 of 59 votes in the state Senate to oust Blagojevich and some believe it could happen by the end of the week.

The governor's public arguments Friday appear to be laying the groundwork for a legal challenge to the impeachment, but senators remain confident any such attempt will fail.

"I don't have any fear any court will stop this," said state Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Hinsdale Republican, who helped write the rules.

And despite spending more than an hour before a microphone all together on Friday, the governor continued to dodge questions that address the crux of the long list of criminal and political charges that will likely end his seat at the head of the state.

"I look forward to my day in court," Blagojevich said, "my chance to prove I did nothing wrong and mostly everything right."

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