Blago lawyer: fundraiser will 'speak from grave'

An attorney for ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Tuesday that former political fundraiser Christopher G. Kelly, who died in an apparent suicide two weeks ago, "will speak from the grave" at Blagojevich's fraud trial.

Following a federal court hearing, Samuel E. Adam gave reporters a taste of the flamboyant style that marked his successful defense of R&B singer R Kelly on child pornography charges in 2008. Kelly was acquitted of all charges following a shouting, whispering, fist-pounding closing argument delivered by Adam.

"Chris Kelly's voice will speak louder from the grave" than when he was alive and he will say "Gov. Blagojevich did no wrong," Adam told an impromptu news conference.

Adam said Kelly's consistent denials before his death that Blagojevich had done anything wrong would become part of the evidence at the trial. He didn't say whether that would come into evidence through tapes made by the FBI on which Kelly might be heard or through some other means.

Kelly, 51, was a co-defendant in the sweeping corruption case against Blagojevich but was also facing eight years in federal prison on other charges when he died of an apparent overdose Sept. 12. Police said it was a suicide.

At Tuesday's hearing, federal prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel without any discussion to dismiss the charges against Kelly, a south suburban roofing contractor who raised millions of dollars for the Friends of Rod Blagojevich campaign fund.

Adam also heaped extravagant praise, as he has for months, on Zagel, the veteran jurist who presided over the landmark Operation Family Secrets mob trial in 2007 and now is presiding over Blagojevich's corruption case.

In answer to a question from a reporter, Adam dismissed any thought of asking for a change of venue.

"You don't go from a diamond to cubic zirconia and that's what Judge Zagel is -- a diamond," Adam said.

The hearing itself was brief and focused mainly on preparation of a questionnaire for prospective jurors.

Zagel, who is known for his cool, no-nonsense style, warned attorneys to be careful with the tone of questions designed to develop a psychological portrait of each juror.

"I'm concerned that the questions are unduly intrusive," Zagel said. "It might be felt by prospective jurors that they were being manipulated."