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| Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich waves through car exhaust as he departs his home in Chicago, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008. A legislative panel considering impeachment in Springfield prepared to examine whether Blagojevich abused his power, despite challenges from the governor's lawyer. |
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- Illinois lawmakers could be forced to build their impeachment case against Gov. Rod Blagojevich on a raft of relatively small grievances, rather than the blockbuster Senate-seat-for-sale allegations, for fear of undermining federal prosecutors' criminal investigation.
Members of the state House impeachment committee said Thursday they will do nothing that would interfere with the investigation by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. If Fitzgerald asks lawmakers not to interview certain witnesses, they will abide by that, they said.
"We do not want to get in the way of the United States attorney doing the work he does, and so whatever he says about where we can and can't go in our investigation, we are going to just simply say, `Fine, sir,'" said state Rep. Lou Lang, a suburban Chicago Democrat.
The committee would then probably emphasize some lower-profile allegations of misconduct against Blagojevich. Among them: defying the Legislature, failing to honor reporters' Freedom of Information requests, and trading state jobs and contracts for campaign contributions.
The latest complications, along with other developments, suggest it could be more difficult to dislodge Blagojevich than it appeared just a week ago. On Wednesday, the Illinois Supreme Court rejected a request to declare him unfit to serve, and Blagojevich's lawyer made it clear that the governor is not going down without a fight.
Federal prosecutors' case could be severely undermined - or at least greatly complicated - if Illinois lawmakers compel certain witnesses to testify under a grant of immunity. After the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s, the convictions of Oliver North and John Poindexter were thrown out after the courts determined that the cases against them were built too much on testimony they gave to Congress under a promise of immunity.
The impeachment committee sent Fitzgerald a letter Thursday formally asking for information about people mentioned by pseudonyms in the criminal complaint, and requesting his guidance on who can be called to testify. Fitzgerald refused to comment.
The panel adjourned until Monday, when members hoped to discuss any guidelines or restrictions Fitzgerald may place on them.
Committee members said the criminal charges against Blagojevich will still play a part in the impeachment proceedings. If nothing else, lawmakers will be able to use the 76-page federal criminal complaint, which includes sworn statements from the FBI and damning excerpts from the governor's wiretapped conversations.
"I think everything's fair game," said Rep. Chapin Rose, a Republican.
Committee chairwoman Barbara Flynn Currie, a Chicago Democrat like the governor, noted that even before Blagojevich's arrest last week, some lawmakers were calling for his impeachment.
"We've got plenty of evidence out there of questionable activity on the part of the governor," she said.
The governor was arrested on charges that he schemed to see President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat for campaign cash or a plum job for himself. He was also accused of trying to strong-arm the Chicago Tribune into firing editorial writers who criticized him, and pressuring a hospital executive for campaign donations.
Outraged lawmakers appointed a committee to investigate Blagojevich and issue a recommendation on whether he should be impeached.
Blagojevich attorney Ed Genson had no comment on what restrictions Fitzgerald should place on the committee. "They do what they got to do and I do what I've got to do, and then what happens is what we've got to do," Genson said.
Perhaps previewing his courtroom arguments, Genson on Thursday questioned the legality of the wiretaps. He warned the impeachment committee: "I think you're using evidence that was illegally obtained." Afterward, Genson said he expects to challenge the wiretaps in court at some point.
Unlike the U.S. Constitution, which allows impeachment in cases of "high crimes and misdemeanors," the Illinois Constitution does not define an impeachable offense. No Illinois governor has ever been impeached, so lawmakers have little to go on.
Genson has complained about the lack of a clear standard and suggested he might raise the issue in court if the governor is impeached.
"I don't know what the line is," he told the committee. "The line should be based on evidence, should be based on due process, should be based on confrontation."
Aside from the federal charges, lawmakers have mentioned several issues that could be part of an impeachment case:
-Longtime Blagojevich friend Ali Ata, in a plea bargain on charges of lying to the FBI, said that he handed $25,000 to a Blagojevich fundraiser and that the governor immediately brought up the subject of getting Ata a state job.
-In another guilty plea, Joseph Cari said Blagojevich tried to enlist him as a fundraiser with the possibility of getting state contracts and legal work.
- A legislative panel turned down Blagojevich's request to expand government health programs, but Blagojevich ignored the decision and went forward with the expansion.
-Blagojevich promised $1 million to a historic church destroyed by fire, but the money somehow ended up at a school run by a former felon. Blagojevich pardoned the felon to make her eligible to collect the grant.
