Background from the

Illinois Senate Republican Caucus

“An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history."

– Gerald Ford
 
 

Senate Hears FBI Tape Excerpts
One of the highlights of the trial occured Tuesday, when the House Prosecutor played four brief recordings of telephone conversations with Governor Blagojevich and others in relation to an alleged plot to trade campaign contributions for favorable consideration of legislation of benefit to the Horse Racing Industry.

The recordings were played to the full Senate about mid-way through the testimony of FBI special agent Daniel Cain.

Until the Governor made his request to address the Senate, the brief conversations were expected to be the only time during the trial that the Governor's actual voice would be heard, because the Governor and his attorneys boycotted the proceeding and because many of the other taped conversations were being withheld due to the pending criminal case against the Governor.

On Jan. 23, the federal court gave U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald permission to release portions of taped conversations recorded by Cain and others.

Cain's testimony concluded with questioning from Senators, including closing questions posed by Sen. John Millner (R-Carol Stream). Millner, a 30-year law enforcement professional asked Agent Cain if Cain had any doubt that the voice heard on tapes referenced in a 76-page criminal complaint, was the voice of Rod Blagojevich.

Cain said he was certain it was Blagojevich. (Hear Cain's statement)

The second day of the Impeachment trial of Governor Rod Blagojevich had begun with Agent Cain testifying to the validity of information contained in a 76-page criminal complaint filed in December, including the Governor's alleged plot to trade the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama exchange for personal gain.

Trial Began Jan. 26
The first-ever impeachment trial of an Illinois Governor began in the Illinois Senate Monday (Jan. 26) at noon. Watch opening remarks from Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno.

One of the first orders of business after convening the Senate as an impeachment tribunal, was for Illinois SupremeCourt Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald to acknowledge that the Governor did not appear and to enter a plea of "not guilty" on his behalf.

The Senate then began accepting the motions, evidence and other documents filed by the House Prosecutor.

Although the schedule allowed for the Governor or his legal counsel to also submit motions, evidence and documents, no motions were filed because the Governor was boycotting the trial.

The Senate then moved on to a series of motions by the House Prosecutor to allow additional evidence and witnesses and to withdraw the planned testimony of other witnesses.

The House Prosecutor launched his case with opening arguments and testimony from former U.S. Attorney John Scully, who answered questions from lawmakers and the prosecutors about the care with which federal authorities make and handle covert recordings of targets in criminal investigations.

The trial was scheduled when, on Jan. 14, 2009, the first day of the 96th General Assembly, the Illinois Senate accepted a formal article of impeachment of Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich (House Resolution 5) from the Illinois House.

The Senate also adopted formal rules governing the impeachment trial, adopted a trial schedule, swore in each member of the Senate to "do justice according to the law" in the upcoming trial and issued a "writ of summons" to the Governor to appear for trial. The impeachment trial of Governor Rod Blagojevich is scheduled to begin in the Illinois Senate on Jan. 26.

According to the schedule adopted by the Illinois Senate, the Governor and the House Prosecutor were required to file requests for subpoenas and admission of evidence on Wednesday, Jan. 21.

Only the House Prosecutor filed the required documents (view House Prosecutor filing), as the Governor's counsel indicated they would not participate in the impeachment trial.

House Impeaches Governor
The stage was set for the Senate impeachment trial, when, on January 9, 2009, the Illinois House voted 114-1 to impeach Gov. Blagojevich. The approval of the formal impeachment resolution made Blagojevich the first governor in Illinois history to be impeached. The resolution was based on the final report of the House Special Investigative Committee.

Impeachment simply means the public official is charged with offenses that could lead to removal from office. The actual removal from office occurs only if the Illinois Senate, by a two-thirds vote, finds the Governor guilty.

Because the impeachment came at the close of the two-year General Assembly, it was necessary for the Illinois House to re-approve the resolution at the beginning of the 96th General Assembly on Jan. 14, 2009. This second impeachment resolution, HR 5, was approved on a 117-1 vote. The lone "no" vote was by the Governor's sister-in-law.

Article of Impeachment
The article of impeachment focused on the "totality of the evidence" contained in the report and listed 13 specific abuses of power.

1. The Governor's plot to obtain a personal benefit in exchange for his appointment to fill the vacant seat in the United States Senate;
2. The Governor's plot to condition the awarding of state financial assistance to the Tribune Company on the firing of members of the Chicago Tribune editorial board;
3. The Governor's plot to trade official acts in exchange for campaign contributions related to legislation diverting casino gambling revenues to the horse racing industry;
4. The Governor's plot to trade official acts in exchange for campaign contributions related to the awarding of Illinois tollway contracts;
5. The Governor's plot to trade official acts in exchange for campaign contributions related to the release of funds for Illinois doctors and hospitals;
6. The Governor's plot to trade official acts in exchange for campaign contributions related to an appointment to the Illinois Finance Authority;
7. The Governor's plot to trade official acts in exchange for campaign contributions related to awarding state contracts;
8. The Governor's plot to trade official acts in exchange for campaign contributions related to awarding state permits and authorizations;
9. The Governor's refusal to recognize the authority of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules;
10. The Governor's importation of flu vaccines without FDA approval that could not then be legally distributed;
11. The Governor's actions involving the importation of foreign drugs without FDA approval through the I-SaveRx prescription program;
12. The Governor's actions in which state agencies falsely claimed savings through an "Agency Efficiency Initiative;"
13. The Governor's violation of federal and state laws in hiring and firing state employees.

Seven of the 13 abuses cited by the House occurred and were known to have occurred prior to the 2006 elections, in which House Speaker Michael J. Madigan (D-Chicago) and Senate President Emil Jones, Jr. (D-Chicago) endorsed and served as co-chairmen of the Governor's re-election campaign.

Governor's Arrest
It was the dramatic arrest Dec. 9 of a sitting governor and his chief-of-staff that spurred the the impeachment process.

Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were arrested in December on federal corruption charges. Later that day they appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan and were released on their own recognizance.

Impeachment Committee Formed
On Dec. 15, 2008, the Speaker of the Illinois House announced the formation of a House Impeachment Committee. The announcement came less than a week after Governor Rod Blagojevich was taken into custody by federal agents.

In announcing the formation of the impeachment committee, House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) said the committee would be comprised of 21 members – 12 Democrats and nine Republicans.

The committee first met at noon on Tuesday, Dec. 16. The Chairman of the Committee was House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), while the ranking Republican on the committee was Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs). Most of the meetings were open to the public and the Governor's legal defense team attended the majority of meetings.

Committee Report
After circulating a draft report in private meetings, the committee released its final report on Jan. 8, just one day before the full House met to consider the impeachment resolution.

Although many of the abuses cited by the House had been well-documented for years, it was only after the dramatic arrest of the Governor that majority Democrats in the both the House and Senate took action.

Criminal Complaint
According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, the arrest took place because Governor Blagojevich and his staff chief, John Harris, were engaged in "ongoing criminal activity: conspiring to obtain personal financial benefits for Blagojevich by leveraging his sole authority to appoint a United State's Senator, threatening to withhold substantial state assistance to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field to induce the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members sharply critical of Blagojevich; and to obtain campaign contributions in exchange for official actions – both historically and now in a push before a new state ethics law takes effect January 1, 2009"

A 76-page complaint filed Dec. 7, 2008, details the allegations against Blagojevich and Harris.

The complaint identified two counts:

Count One
From in or about 2002 to the present, in Cook County, in the Northern District of Illinois, defendants did, conspire with each other and with others to devise and participate in a scheme to defraud the State of Illinois and the people of the State of Illinois of the honest services of ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH and JOHN HARRIS, in furtherance of which the mails and interstate wire communications would be used, in violation of Title 18, United
States Code, Sections 1341,1343, and 1346; all in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 1349.

Count Two
Beginning no later than November 2008 to the present, in Cook County, in the Northern District of Illinois, defendants ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH and JOHN HARRIS, being agents of the State of Illinois, a State government which during a one-year period, beginning January 1, 2008 and continuing to the present, received federal benefits in excess of $10,000, corruptly solicited and demanded a thing of value, namely, the firing of certain Chicago
Tribune editorial members responsible for widely-circulated editorials critical of ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH,
intending to be influenced and rewarded in connection with business and transactions of the State of Illinois involving a thing of value of $5,000 or more, namely, the provision of millions of dollars in financial assistance by the State of Illinois, including through the Illinois Finance Authority, an agency of the State of Illinois, to the Tribune Company involving the Wrigley Field baseball stadium; in violation of Title 18, United States Code,
Sections 666(a)(1)(B) and 2.

It is important to remember that impeachment and a criminal trial are two separate and unrelated events. A public official can be charged with a crime without being impeached and a public official can be impeached without being charged with any crime. Likewise, an official could be tried and convicted of a crime and not convicted in an impeachment trial. A person could also be impeached, convicted and removed from office without ever being charged with a criminal offense.

However, despite the clear legal distinctions between the two, a formal criminal charge against a public official will inevitably prompt discussion of possible impeachment. The charges filed against Governor Blagojevich were no exception.

House Speaker's Memo
In June, 2008, a “Talking Points” memo linked to House Speaker Michael Madigan was circulated that outlined possible reasons for impeachment. (Read Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times stories)

The memo identified three main areas of possible investigation and outlined what the focus of a House impeachment proceeding might be.

Those three areas were:

• Ongoing federal criminal investigations of the administration;
• Violation of the oath of office by attempting to operate outside of the Illinois constitution and state law;
  
• Inability to govern.