Monday, the man who was once the governor of the state of Illinois was found guilty on 17 of 20 charges of corruption. Blagojevich was accused mainly of attempting to sell the seat that Barack Obama held in the United States Senate when he was elected President of the United States in November of 2008.
This one was far more subdued, as even Illinoisans grew tired of their impeached ex-Governor’s seemingly never-ending legal saga. Between trials, Blagojevich, whom I wrote about for The New Yorker a year ago, made few media appearances, and the judge, James Zagel, reportedly issued a gag order on the attorneys in the case.Before the decision was read, the couple looked flushed, and the former governor blew his wife a kiss across the courtroom, then stood expressionless, with his hands clasped tightly.
The verdict capped a long-running spectacle in which Blagojevich became famous for blurting on a recorded phone call that his ability to appoint Obama's successor to the Senate was "f---ing golden" and that he wouldn't let it go "for f---ing nothing."The former governor spoke only briefly with reporters as he left the courthouse.
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