Patti Blagojevich leads husband's defense on first day
Patti Blagojevich did most of the public speaking for the defense on the opening day of her husband's corruption trial.
"Today is a good day," she said Thursday morning upon arrival at the Dirksen Federal Building in downtown Chicago, "because today is the day that begins a process to correct a terrible injustice that's been done to my husband, our family and the people of Illinois."
Former governor Rod Blagojevich, on trial for racketeering, extortion, bribery and conspiracy, was at her side as she spoke, but made no statement to reporters.
"My husband is an honest man," she concluded, "and I know that's he's innocent."
The day's court proceedings began the process of picking a jury in the heavily publicized case, with Judge James Zagel affirming his decision to keep jurors' identities secret until after they reach a verdict.
Zagel interviewed 29 potential jurors. He allowed a defense request to consider their answers overnight before ruling some out for cause first thing Friday morning. The court will make such rulings after each session until the end of the interview process, when the defense will get 13 pre-emptory challenges and prosecutors nine. By that time, possibly the middle of next week, the court hopes to have arrived at a jury of 12 with as many as six alternates.
On his way into the courthouse Thursday, Blagojevich hugged supporters and thanked them. That included a group of women with signs, including May Farley, 78, of Elmhurst, who held a placard saying, "Rod's not cuckoo. Rod's not guilty."
"I feel great," said Blagojevich, who denies any wrongdoing. "The truth shall set you free," he told one well-wisher as he shook the man's hand.
Zagel thanked the potential jurors for their role in the process.
"We fought a revolution so that you could sit here today," Zagel told them at the outset. "Your presence in this courtroom is a living symbol of our nation."
He added that they would not be asked "whether you like or dislike, approve or disapprove" of the former governor, but only if the government proved its criminal case against him and his brother, Robert Blagojevich.
Among the first questions Zagel asked was whether jurors had read much about the case and whether they could set aside any preconceived notions about Blagojevich.
One potential juror said she had seen Patti Blagojevich, on a reality TV show eating a bug. Patti Blagojevich had been a contestant on the NBC reality show "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!"
Jurors were referred to in the courtroom by numbers only. Zagel plans to keep the jury anonymous until after the trial. Zagel had denied a request from five news organizations, including The Associated Press, to reverse that.
Zagel was brisk in his questioning and kept the mood light. Potential Juror 107 was a middle-aged electrical engineer, a veteran of the Marine Corps who said he doubled as a manager and technical supporter for his wife's business.
"Is she a difficult employer?" Zagel asked, drawing a laugh from the courtroom.
One woman wrote in a pretrial questionnaire that she doesn't trust most politicians, but said Thursday that she thought she could fairly assess the evidence against Blagojevich and his brother Nashville, Tenn., businessman Robert Blagojevich.
There was no visible joking, nor anything overly glum from Blagojevich. He sat with his attorneys sometimes taking notes, sometimes leaning forward and looking at the juror being questioned.
Although Rod Blagojevich did not speak to reporters before the trial began, he did talk with a few supporters waving placards upon arrival at the federal courthouse. His defense attorneys also made a point of greeting reporters.
"We're here, we're ready to start, and, God willing, we will prevail," said Blagojevich defense attorney Sheldon Sorosky.
Sam Adam Sr. said he expected only to go over juror questionnaires and to render a few "preliminary judgments" on a final jury.
"I think the jury selection will be quicker than everyone has anticipated," Sorosky said. "I think we'll get a jury in three or four days."
By contrast, Robert Blagojevich and his defense attorney, Michael Ettinger, came in quietly and stayed off to the side. They did not address the media. All the Blagojeviches left the courthouse without additional media comment.
Sorosky said "most likely" Patti Blagojevich would testify on her husband's behalf in the case.
Associated Press contributed to this story.
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