US governor snubs impeachment trial for TV interviews

The state impeachment trial of Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich will take place today – without the politician.

Defiant Mr Blagojevich will be speaking to TV talk show hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Larry King instead of facing the state Senate.

The Democrat admits that his conviction is certain, but refuses to resign.

Mr Blagojevich was accused of scheming to benefit from his power to name President Barack Obama’s replacement in the US Senate.

US government prosecutors also said their wiretaps caught Mr Blagojevich, aged 52, threatening to withhold money for children’s health care unless he got campaign donations from a hospital executive and offering to trade state aid to the Tribune Co in exchange for the Chicago Tribune sacking unfriendly writers.

Mr Blagojevich says the impeachment trial rules are unfair, but he and his lawyers did not try to influence the rules as they were written or afterwards.

After weeks of near-silence, Mr Blagojevich has begun an energetic public relations campaign, comparing himself to the hero of a Frank Capra movie and a cowboy being lynched for a crime he did not commit.

He said that when he was arrested on federal corruption charges, he took solace from other leaders who had been jailed.

“I thought about Mandela, Dr King, Gandhi,” he said in an interview on Today.

That interview will be shown in full today, the same day the impeachment trial starts and Mr Blagojevich is scheduled to appear on Good Morning, America, The View and Larry King Live.

Mr Blagojevich left his home yesterday carrying a biography of Winston Churchill.

Legal experts see little benefit to Mr Blagojevich from boycotting the trial while refusing to resign. The decision means he will still be leaving office soon, but only after proceedings guaranteed to put him in a bad light.

Illinois senator Dick Durbin said yesterday that Mr Blagojevich should defend himself at the trial because the extra media attention would not impress the state senators who would be judging him.

“Barbara Walters is not on his jury,” Mr Durbin said, referring to the veteran newswoman who co-hosts The View.

Senators will hear details of the criminal charges against Mr Blagojevich and are likely to hear recordings that allegedly reveal the governor talking about signing legislation in exchange for campaign contributions.

In addition to simply removing Mr Blagojevich, the Senate could vote to bar him from holding public office in Illinois.

The governor’s decision to cling to office has surprised many and one expert said resignation might help him with jurors in any future criminal trial.

“If I were his lawyer, I would say, ’Why don’t you make yourself a little less offensive to people? Why not make yourself a little more sympathetic?’,” said Leonard Cavise, a law professor at DePaul University.

But Mr Blagojevich said that was not an option.

“I’m not going to resign, of course not,” he said. “I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong.”

With Mr Blagojevich refusing to mount a defense, the impeachment trial could wrap up within days, ending a bizarre political and legal spectacle that began on December 9 with his arrest by FBI agents.

His arrest was the final straw for politicians, who had spent six years clashing with Mr Blagojevich. The House quickly voted 114-1 for impeaching the governor and that sent the case to the state Senate, where it would take a two-thirds majority to convict Mr Blagojevich and throw him out of office.

Lt Gov Patrick Quinn would replace him, becoming Illinois’ 41st governor.