It's been a while since we checked in on former Illinois Governor/Walking Hair Farm Milorad "Rod" Blagojevich, but he's due to stand trial for all sorts of federal corruption charges, so what's up with that? As it turns out, his legal representation has come up with a really unique trial strategy, called "let him blather." Oh, this is music to our ears!
Blago attorney Sam Adam, Jr. lays it all out in Chicago magazine:
In "Mighty Mouth," a revealing profile by Bryan Smith in the June issue of Chicago magazine, Adam offers clues to the defense strategy for the ex-governor's trial, now scheduled to begin in early June. Adam is betting that by letting the public see firsthand that Blagojevich apparently says whatever comes into his head, Adam and his colleagues can argue that the things Blagojevich says on the extensive government tape recordings are little more than his typical claptrap--that the real crooks are those around him. "I think the jury will see that [Blagojevich] surrounded himself with people who would make him feel OK--to feed his need for acceptance," Adam said.
The defense approach is unusual, to say the least. "[Adam] is doing things that are absolutely unheard of in a public corruption case," said the former federal prosecutor Patrick Collins. "The first rule that most lawyers have for their clients is 'Keep your mouth shut.' In this case, it's as if [Blagojevich is] being told to keep his mouth open as much as he can."
It's brilliant, of course. See, everyone perceives Blago to be some sort of Chicago "machine" style political fixer, playing out angles and juggling a multitude of corrupt deals at the same time. But what if you could prove that he's actually this blustery, insecure guy who has the entire cast of "Glengarry Glen Ross" alive inside his brain, all shrieking Middle English poetry and singing campfire songs in a loud cacophonous fugue? There'd be no way you could imagine he'd be able to pull off the crimes of which he's been accused.
I tell you, this is going to be the most entertaining trial in American history. For once, the dead are going to envy us!
RELATED:
Blago's Lawyer: "He's a Celebrity Idiot" [Chicago Magazine]
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