Blago lawyer: Fed wiretaps illegal

The Rod Blagojevich impeachment proceedings are rapidly becoming a farce.

A lawyer for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich told state lawmakers Thursday that the federal wiretaps at the heart of the pay-to-play allegations against his client were illegally obtained, and therefore should be kept out of any impeachment proceedings.

The wiretaps are crucial to the federal charges filed against Blagojevich last week. Prosecutors say they caught the Democratic governor discussing efforts to auction off Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat and pressure a hospital executive for campaign donations.

Ed Genson told the impeachment committee that it shouldn't consider any material from the wiretaps, saying the evidence was "illegally obtained."

The rules of a criminal case differ from impeachment case. Genson of course knows this, and he's cognizant that millions of potential Blagojevich jurors--should Blago be indicted and put on trial--are closely following this story.

Besides, counsellor, exactly how were these wiretaps "illegally obtained?"

In related news, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan denied a request that the 13 million residents of Illinois pay Genson's legal bills. This is a big deal, because federal authorities are maneuvering to freeze the governor's campaign fund, which had been used to pay Blago's old team of lawyers at Winston & Strawn.

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