Will husband's troubles add pressure on Patti Blagojevich?

The salty language Patti Blagojevich uses in FBI recordings certainly isn't typical of what's expected to come out of the mouths of first ladies. But are her words enough to launch criminal proceedings?

Legal experts differ on whether federal prosecutors have enough evidence to indict the 43-year-old wife of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who himself was arrested on corruption charges Tuesday.

Published reports indicate authorities are investigating whether her real estate dealings profited from her husband's position. And among Blagojevich's clients was the governor's former fundraiser Tony Rezko, convicted this summer on bribery and money laundering charges.

And in the just-released FBI affidavit, Patti Blagojevich is caught on tape saying to "hold up that (expletive) Cubs (expletive) ... (expletive) them," in reference to a plan to coerce the Chicago Tribune to fire writers of critical editorials in exchange for state funding for Wrigley Field, prosecutors say. She later added, "just fire" the writers.

Patti Blagojevich also was active in the governor's scheme to abuse his authority to appoint a new U.S. senator by gaining a job for himself or a position on a corporate board for his wife, the FBI said.

Patti Blagojevich has not been charged with any wrongdoing and the governor has not commented yet on the case.

Former prosecutor and Chicago-Kent College of Law professor Douglas Godfrey guaranteed that more evidence will come spilling out in eventual indictments, and he expects Patti Blagojevich to be involved.

"In federal criminal law, it's easy to get folks on things if they use mail, phone or e-mail, because it falls under the Mail Fraud Act," he said. Or the first lady could be fingered for engaging in "pay to play," politics for promising state support in exchange for real estate contracts, he surmised.

But Jeffrey Urdangen, a Northwestern University clinical assistant law professor, says the evidence that's emerged so far isn't sufficient.

While the tape recordings might indicate Patti Blagojevich was aware of unethical conduct - "possession of criminal knowledge isn't enough," said Urdangen, who led a criminal defense firm for more than 20 years.

Asked if prosecutors would use potential charges against Patti Blagojevich as leverage to get the governor to strike a plea bargain, Urdangen said "it's not the first time it's been done," citing the case of former Enron CFO Andrew Fastow and his wife, Lea. She was charged with tax evasion leading to Andrew Fastow admitting to defrauding the company.

Godfrey predicted that the Blagojeviches will "hang tight."

"He started out as an assistant state's attorney and she's the daughter of Chicago Alderman Richard Mell, so they aren't likely to be as intimidated by the court process as others," he said.