Attorneys Present Closing Arguments in Blagojevich Trial

Rod Blagojevich Trial Extended Coverage >>

Chicago - Closing arguments in the Rod Blagojevich corruption trial were underway Monday. The former governor faced seven weeks of testimony and more than two dozen witnesses, but he never took the stand as he had promised.

Key Points:

• Judge James Zagel is allowing for about six hours of closing arguments and was aiming to get them finished in one day. But by the late afternoon, it was clear that wasn't going to happen.
• Near the end of the day, Sam Adam, Jr. got into an argument with the judge about who he could and couldn't mention during his closing. Adam Jr. wanted to mention people who were not called to testify (i.e., Tony Rezko). The judge said that he can't draw evidentiary inference from the fact that the prosecution didn't call a witness when the defense could have called that witness to testify as well.
  Adam Jr, said he understood Zagel's order but he couldn't follow it, because it did not allow him to effectively defend his client. The judge said that if Adam Jr. disregarded the instructions, then he would be in contempt of court. Since Adam Jr.'s closings are based in large part on a premise the judge will not allow, the judge sent the jury home to give Adam Jr, the night to reformulate his closing, which will begin on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.
• Closing arguments for Robert Blagojevich wrapped up Monday.
• The judge also denied a motion filed be several media outlets requesting jurors' names be made public.  Names will remain secret until the verdict is announced. ( Read the decision, and correspondance from the public to Zagel [PDF ])
• The prosecution is trying to prove Blagojevich set out to make himself rich through pay-to-play politics.
• Blagojevich arrived, as always, with his wife, Patti, but also brought his two daughters and sister-in-law, State Rep. Deb Mell.  His daughters sat in the front row of the courtroom.  It was the first time he has brought them to the trial.
• Before closing arguments began, the prosecution dropped one count against Robert Blagojevich.  Count 13 was a wire fraud charge, dealing with a phone call in which Blagojevich mentions receiving tangible political support in exchange for appointing Jesse Jackson, Jr. to the Senate.

Prosecution's Closing Arguments

The prosecution began its closing arguments by saying Blagojevich summed up the case on Nov. 3, 2008 when he said "I've got this thing, and it’s f***ing golden, and I’m not giving it up for f***ing nothing." Blagojevich said it was about him and not the people of Illinois, the prosecution argued. Blagojevich said "I've got this thing; I’m not giving it up."

The prosecution said Blagojevich used the phrase "what about me?" over and over again when talking about different deals he could possibly gain from.

The prosecution said in their opening statements, the defense told the jury they would learn Blagojevich is as honest as day is long. The prosecution said now was the time to see if that is true.

Blagojevich's political dealings all go back to him and what's in it for him and not the people if Illinois, they said. Blagojevich wasn’t in it alone; the jury heard from Lon Monk, Gerald Krozel, John Harris and more that Blagojevich couldn’t do these deals alone, and eventually he involved his brother.

The prosecution said Rob Blagojevich understood what Blagojevich wanted him to do in the Dec. 4 phone call and agreed to do it, referencing Blagojevich’s request to reschedule a meeting with Raghuveer Nayak about Jesse Jackson, Jr. and the Senate seat because of a Tribune story about Wyma to be printed next day.

The prosecution told the jury there are 24 counts, including bribery and extortion.

The prosecution said the case comes down to this: the governor of Illinois can’t exchange a state action for personal benefit. If he does that, then it’s a bribe. The prosecution said, "Talking here is the crime, ladies and gentleman."

The prosecution said the jury heard Blagojevich try to shake down President-Elect Obama, saying he'd appoint Valerie Jarrett to Senate if Obama gave him something in return; threaten Krozel that Tollway projects would not be announced if Blagojevich didn’t get $500,000 fundraised for him by road construction industry; say he’d hold up a $2 million state grant to Chicago Academy until Rahm Emanuel’s brother held a Hollywood fundraiser for Blagojevich; shake down Children’s Memorial Hospital and CEO Patrick Magoon; hold back on signing the race track bill until he got a campaign contribution; and the jury heard how Blagojevich lied to the FBI.

The prosecution said Blagojevich went on a shopping spree with the Senate seat appointment to see what he could get for it, including a health and human services cabinet seat, a job for Patti, starting a nonprofit and an ambassadorship. 

The prosecution told the jury again how in a phone call from Nov. 3, 2008, Blagojevich was heard saying "Do they think I’m going to appoint Jarrett for nothing?" The prosecution also reminded the jury of a phone call in which Blagojevich rehearsed what he would say to Tom Balanoff when he met with him a few days later about what he wanted in exchange for the appointment, saying “they know I can do this for them and that I want something for it.”

The prosecution reminded the jury how Blagojevich wanted a 501c4 nonprofit set up for him to work at after he left office, and he told Balanoff he wanted money for the nonprofit. Blagojevich wanted an "unsaid” message sent to Emanuel that he wanted the nonprofit set up in exchange for the appointment.

That wasn’t an exchange, the prosecution said, it was a sale.

Blagojevich wanted to sell the seat for financial reasons, the prosecution said, reminding the jury about money Tony Rezko funneled to Patti and how the Blagojevichs’ debt rose 400 percent from 2002 to 2008. Blagojevich needed to sell the seat, they said, and Sam Adam, Jr. said to the jury in his opening statement Blagojevich was broke.

The prosecution said Blagojevich was broke because the FBI stopped him and because he spent more than he made.

Blagojevich also wanted to sell the seat, the prosecution argued, because "money is power in politics," and the more money a politician has in a campaign fund, the more politically powerful he is perceived to be.

The prosecution then discussed Blagojevich's inner circle Monk, Chris Kelly, Rezko and people that were close to Blagojevich and his family. The prosecution told the jury Blagojevich's inner circle was in "the driver's seat for state government,” and how Doug Scofield, a former deputy governor, said he “missed the memo” that Monk, Kelly and Rezko were running Blagojevich's administration.

The prosecution reminded the jury about the 2003 plane ride political fundraiser Joe Cari had with Blagojevich during which Cari said Blagojevich mentioned selling state contracts for campaign donations, and how Ali Ata wrote Blagojevich a $25,000 check to eventually be appointed as the head of the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA).

The jury was reminded about the political deals the inner circle set up regarding the Teachers Retirement System (TRS), and how the circle would make money by controlling who was given state contracts to do consulting and/or investment work for TRS. The prosecution said Bear Stearns and its lobbyist, Robert Kjellander, made over $800,000 from receiving state work.

The prosecution told the jury again how Patti started receiving money from Rezko after the deal went through. Rezko was also giving money to Monk, approximately $10,000 a month. Monk earlier testified he thought the money was a salary advance for him going to work for Rezko in the future.

The prosecution said Monk didn’t make up his testimony, nor did he lie.

Regarding the real estate work Patti reportedly did to get paid by Rezko, the prosecution said she didn’t do any work. "It was made up,” they said, reminding the jury about strange real estate deals where Patti's name was added in at the last minute. In one deal, the prosecution said Patti was added to a real estate deal in which she got a $40,000 commission check because the Blagojevichs needed work done on their house, and they were behind in paying the various contractors, who worked for Rezmar.

The prosecution said Blagojevich and Rezko tried to keep this money "hidden from the world."

The prosecution said the deal between Rezmar, Rezko’s company, and River Realty, Patti’s company, was for two years and Rezko had to stop making a $12,000 per month payment to Patti when Stuart Levine was interviewed.

Blagojevich tried to find Patti work because news of the ongoing federal investigations was hindering her work as a real estate broker, the prosecution said, mentioning how Blagojevich told his advisors not to do work with two companies who failed to find work for Patti.

The prosecution asked, was Blagojevich as honest as the day is long? Did Blagojevich keep a firewall between politics and government, and if he did or did not keep track of who was donating to him? Blagojevich told the FBI he kept a firewall and that he didn’t know who was donating to his campaign, but the prosecution reminded the jury of a former Friends of Blagojevich (FOB) campaign finance director's testimony that Blagojevich "intimately" knew about his campaign finances, sometimes knowing more than them.

The prosecution said some of the tapes also back up this claim.

Blagojevich didn’t want the FBI to know how aware Blagojevich was about his campaign contributions, the prosecution said. Blagojevich is charged with lying to the FBI in count 24 of his indictment.

The prosecution told the jury Blagojevich held off on releasing state grant money to Chicago Academy High School until Emanuel’s brother held a Hollywood fundraiser for Blagojevich. Monk was at a meeting where Blagojevich told Emanuel the money was approved/promised.

Next the prosecution talked about the race track bill that would have benefited John Johnston. Blagojevich wanted a donation before the end of the year and didn’t want to sign the bill until he had Johnston's campaign contribution.

The prosecution told the jury again how Blagojevich mentioned appointing Emil Jones to Senate if Jones didn’t call the capital bill for an amendatory vote in State Senate, and how Blagojevich planned to ask Jones for his campaign fund if he became a senator, when he would no longer need the fund.

The jury heard about Blagojevich wanting Harris to tell the Chicago Tribune to fire its editorial board if they still wanted the state to buy Wrigley Field from Tribune Company. Blagojevich said on tape to have the board fired and to get him some editorial support.

The prosecution said Krozel testified the "connection was clear,” meaning if Krozel contributed to the Blagojevich campaign fund, then Blagojevich would approve and announce another state Tollway project. Blagojevich wanted Krozel to have the road construction industry fundraise $500,000 for him in exchange for an upcoming Tollway project. The prosecution argued Blagojevich had Monk talking to Krozel about the donation.

Returning to Johnston, the prosecution said Blagojevich held off on signing the race track bill because he wanted to make sure he got a campaign donation from Johnston first. Blagojevich had no legitimate reason to not sign the bill, Johnston testified, and his two race tracks were losing $9,000 every day the bill went unsigned.

The prosecution reminded the jury that Blagojevich wanted Magoon and Children’s Memorial Hospital to raise $25,000 in campaign funds for him and that Rob Blagojevich was charged with trying to make this happen as well. The jury was reminded about a phone call in which Blagojevich told Bob Greenlee to hold back on a rate increase for Children’s.

The prosecution said when Blagojevich talked on tape about receiving tangible political support for the Senate appointment, that is critical to the case. Tangible political support was campaign contributions for Blagojevich, not support for health care, they argued.

The prosecution said the jury can know he means campaign contributions because Nayak was offering millions of dollars to FOB in exchange for Jackson, Jr,’s appointment, and Nayak has nothing to do with health care. There was no reason to cancel a meeting with Nayak if he had healthcare ties, and no reason to sweep FOB for bugs if they were talking about healthcare, they argued.

The prosecution said Rob Blagojevich lied on the stand in saying he didn’t know that Blagojevich wanted to him to talk to Nayak about getting campaign funds for seat. The prosecution argued the Blagojevich brothers mixed government and politics when Rod Blagojevich told Rob to tell Nayak that Jackson, Jr. was being elevated as a Senate consideration.

The prosecution argued Rob knew his brother was going to trade the seat for something, citing the two faxes Nayak sent to Rob about support form the Indian community if Rob Blagojevich appointed Jackson, Jr. The prosecution said Rob knew what Rod was up to because Rod told Rob not to show him the faxes, so Rod could say he technically hadn’t seen them. Both didn’t want to the Indian and Hispanic communities to know who Rod was going to appoint until after Blagojevich had fundraisers with each of the groups on Dec. 5 and 6, 2008.

The prosecution said Rod understand exactly what Nayak was all about.

On Dec. 4, 2008, the prosecution said Blagojevich told Fred Yang the Indian community offered many different things, including fundraisers. The prosecution said Blagojevich told Harris that day the Indian community was throwing numbers at him, like $1.5 million. Harris told Blagojevich he couldn’t trade the seat. Later in the day, Blagojevich told Yang there was tangible political support, specific amounts, some of it up front, if he appointed Jackson, Jr.

The prosecution said tangible political support was fundraising.

The prosecution told the jury about a Chicago Tribune story from Dec. 5, 2008, which said John Wyma wore a wire for federal investigators, and how Rod told Rob to cancel his meeting with Nayak that day, a meeting about fundraising.

The prosecution said despite cancelling the meeting, the Blagojevich brothers were not done scheming to get the money, and on Dec. 6 they talked about another approach.

The prosecution argued Blagojevich knew at the time he was committing these crimes, saying Blagojevich was a former Cook Co. prosecutor. He knew what he was doing because he lied to the FBI, they said, and you only lie to the FBI if you know what you are doing is wrong. He knew what he was doing because he passed the state ethics test every year. The prosecution also said Blagojevich knew because he lied about his actions publicly in a Nov. 5 press conference, in which he said he had a selection process he planned to follow to pick a new senator. Blagojevich knew he was committing crimes because he referred to his inner circle as one, two, three and four, and told Monk if any one ever asked about it, then made a slashing motion across his throat. Blagojevich was hiding his actions, the prosecution said.

If Blagojevich was talking about health care he wouldn’t have told Rob "the whole world is listening" and to be careful when he talked to Nayak, the prosecution said.

The prosecution told the jury there are 24 counts that overlap and have common themes, and they would now summarize them.

The bribery, racketeering, wire fraud and extortion charges go back to the heart of the case, that government can’t trade state action for political gain, the prosecution argued.

On the bribery charges, they asked, did defendants seek to scheme to defraud the public out of honest services? Bribery can occur indirectly or directly; it doesn’t have to be clearly stated. It’s the message that’s important, they said, not the specific words. A government official cannot exchange state action for something of value, as in cash, a new job, campaign contributions, etc.

The prosecution said every time in this case, state action was linked to some political gain for Blagojevich in exchange for the act.

The prosecution said a public official doesn’t need to perform the specific act, he just needs to understand what he would gain in return for doing so. They said it doesn’t matter if Blagojevich ever appointed Jackson, Jr., what is important is that Nayak thought Blagojevich would do so and gave Blagojevich campaign contributions

On intent to defraud, the prosecution said intent was present because Blagojevich knew the rules, as they discussed previously. He intended to deceive and to cheat, they argued.

Rob too knew the rules, the prosecution said, and was told by Bill Quinlan not to mix government and fundraising. Rob knew what was going on, evident since he had the FOB office swept for bugs and was concerned about phone calls being listened in on.

Rob also mentioned Rod using the appointment as a way to stop the federal investigation into Rod.

The prosecution moved to discuss wire fraud and the phone calls played in court. Count 5 was for a Nov. 7 phone call in which Blagojevich, Harris and Yang talked about the appointment. Count 6 was for a similar call. In both, the prosecution said Blagojevich was scheming with advisors on what to do with the seat.

The prosecution said two Blagojevich phone calls with Scofield were scheming to get the message to Emanuel to set up a nonprofit for Blagojevich in exchange for appointing Jarrett.

On count 13, Rod only was charged, and it was for Blagojevich mentioning tangible support in exchange for appointing Jackson, Jr.

The prosecution discussed the extortion charges regarding the appointment:

1) A public official attempted to gain property he's not entitled too, which the prosecution said was Blagojevich trying to money from Nayak.

2) The official action was to be exchanged for a campaign contribution. The agreement need not be directly expressed, the prosecution said. You don’t have to say " x for y,” the message can be conveyed indirectly.

3) In an attempted extortion, the defendant has to take a "substantial" step toward committing the crime. The prosecution said Blagojevich took such a step when telling Balanoff he wanted the HHS seat in exchange for appointing Jarrett, and they said Blagojevich did it again when he told Balanoff he wanted a nonprofit set up in exchange. He did it again when he told Scofield to tell Wyma to tell Emanuel what he wanted for the appointment and again when he told Greenlee to research jobs and foundations for him.

The prosecution said Rod and Rob Blagojevich took steps to make the extortion real, including a substantial step when Rob canceled a meeting with Nayak.

On bribery and extortion conspiracy charges, the prosecution said all you need is two people in agreement about what should happen. For conspiracy charges, you don’t need to be successful in carrying out these acts.

The prosecution said the charges go back to the original foundation: you can’t exchange state action for political gain.

The prosecution brought up Children’s Memorial Hospital, saying the scheme was to have them fundraise for Blagojevich in exchange for a rate increase for pediatricians. The intent was there because Blagojevich knew he was the only one who could approve the rate increase and tried to keep his asking quiet by using Rob to make the request, making it look like fundraising. The prosecution said Blagojevich lied to his staff and Greenlee, saying he was pulling back on the rate increase for budgetary reasons.

The prosecution said Blagojevich had no right to ask the hospital for campaign contributions.

On the attempted extortion charge, the prosecution said Blagojevich took a substantial step when he told Rob to tell Children’s he wanted a fundraiser to be held by them and took another step when he told Greenlee to pull back and told his brother to call Magoon.

On attempted bribery, the prosecution said Blagojevich wanted campaign funds in exchange for a rate increase. Blagojevich took a substantial step when he called Magoon to tell him the rate was approved.

The prosecution said Blagojevich attempted to bribe race track owner Johnston by holding back on signing race track bill until he made a campaign contribution before the end of the year. Blagojevich took a substantial step by sending Monk to talk to Johnston and suggesting ways for Monk to increase pressure on Johnston, the prosecution said.

The prosecution then went over what covert acts Blagojevich allegedly took to commit "conspiracy to bribe or extort" regarding the race track bill and road construction projects.

The prosecution went over the wire fraud charge against Blagojevich for trying to get Krozel to have the construction industry fundraise $500,000 for him. The prosecution said Blagojevich was the "bully sitting on $5 to $6 billion,” which was how much the Tollway projects that Blagojevich said he's announce if the got that fundraising contribution were worth.

The prosecution said he linked the Tollway projects to fundraising by saying if they don’t perform, “f*** 'em.”

The prosecution also went over another attempted extortion charge, in which Blagojevich allegedly held back a $2 million state grant for Chicago Academy High School until Emanuel’s brother held a fundraiser for Blagojevich.

Regarding count 24, in which Blagojevich is charged with lying to the FBI, the prosecution said the government is not required to prove the former governor knew his acts were wrong, it is still not hard to prove that Blagojevich should know not to lie to FBI as a former the prosecutor for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

The prosecution said Magoon knew immediately Blagojevich wanted the campaign funds in exchange for hospital rate increase.

The prosecution said Blagojevich and his brother knew what they were doing in each and every one of these counts and asked the jury to find the brothers guilty on all counts.

Robert Blagojevich's attorney presents closing arguments

Michael Ettinger gave the closing argument for Rob Blagojevich.

Ettinger told the jury that the judge will instruct them to judge Robert separate from Rod.

Ettinger said that Rob Blagojevich is facing four counts, all dealing with campaign fundraising. Ettinger told the jury that campaign fundraising on its own -- when done in exchange for nothing is not illegal -- even if the donor has business in front of public official. It's still okay to ask for a donation on its own and give nothing in exchacnge for it.

Ettinger say the prosecution has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Rob Blagojevich committed extortion and bribery -- that he got campaign funds in exchange for official actions. And that unless Rob Blagojevich knew he was commting bribery or extortion, the jury can't convict him of those crimes, and that association with others isn't enough for a conviction either.

Ettinger went back over Rob Blagojevich's background, to remind jury "who Rob is." Ettinger asked the jury to remember how Rob Blagojevich gave his life for his country in a long miliatry service career, and says he only came to Chicago to repair a "fractured" relationship with his brother.

Ettinger talked about how Rob played sports at Lane Tech, then went to the University of Tampa and signed up for ROTC. He met his wife in college, and served in the reserves. Later, he got a top military clearance and worked with missiles while stationed in Germany. Ettinger said it shows that he is an honorable and trustworthy man who served 16 and a half years in the reserves while working full-time and raising a family.

Ettinger talked about how the brothers only saw each other a few times a year, and that Robert is a Republican, not a Democrat like his brother.

Ettinger talked about July 2008, when Rod asked Rob to run FOB for the next four months. Rob didn't want to, but he talked it over with his wife and she reminded him that his mom wanted the brothers to be close.

Ettinger said Rob asked Rod about on-going FBI investigations and asked, "What am I walking into?"

Ettinger said that Rob fundraised only off the FOB lists and did not mix fundraising and government, as heard in a taped conversation with Quinlan. He said it was hard for Robert to fundraise in late 2008 because the economy was tanking.

Ettinger said that the prosecution's two star witnesses (Harris and Monk) also called Rob honest and truthful. He points out that the jurors didn't hear Rob say on any tape that state actions were connected to campaign contributions.

Ettinger said that Rod took Johnston aside fro a private conversation, away from Rob, to talk with him about a donation and the racetrack bill. Ettinger said there was no evidence that Rob knew anything about any deals for the race track bill, and that there's even a phone call transcript which shows he doesn't know.

Ettinger talked about a December 3, 2008 meeting at FOB during which Blagojevich went into his office with other advisors to talk about Johnston, but leaves Robert out on purpose.

Ettinger talked about Krozel and a September 18th with Krozel, Rod and Rob. At this meeting, Rod told Krozel he's announcing the road projects and there's no talk of fundraising. Ettinger said Robert was "in and out" of this meeting and that Robert didn't talk with Krozel until Rod and Monk told him to ask for a donation.

Ettinger called Robert a "scorekeeper" for Blagojevich fundraising. He said that Robert knew nothing about Krozel, other than there was a $1.8 billion toll project and that Monk was going to ask Rob to ask Krozel for a fundraiser. Ettinger talked about how Krozel told the FBI he did not feel the tollway projects were dependent on fundraising. (Earlier, Krozel had testified that he had lied to the FBI, because he wanted them out of his house.)

Ettinger said that Robert Blagojevich called Magoon at Children's Memorial Hospital without knowing what his brother had done about the rate increase, which he said affected only doctors and not the hospital itself.

He went over the voicemail that Robert left for Wyma, and how Wyma testified about what Robert meant in that voicemail. Ettinger compared Wyma to the Johnny Carson skit "The Great Karnak."

Ettinger said that Robert was only asking for a fundraiser and didn't say anything about state business to Magoon, that it was a "normal, routine call" to fundraise. Ettinger said nothing happened after Robert's initial call with Magoon. Magoon wouldn't return Rob's calls. Rob did call Wyma to see if he could get Magoon to call him back. All the while, Ettinger said that Robert never asked for anything in exchange for the fundraiser.

Ettinger said that Robert told Rod he wasn't going to call Magoon any more, and how Rod called Greenlee and asked if they could pull the rate increase for budget reasons if they had to. Greenlee said yes, and Rod said, "Good to know."

Ettinger said Rob did nothing criminal with Magoon, that he had no knowledge of the rate increase and just made a fundraising phone call. Ettiner argued that if Rob was an extortionist, he would have brought up the rate increase to Magoon, but he didn't.

Ettinger told the jury that when Rob brought up the idea to Blagojevich about appointing Jarrett to the Senate seat while asking Obama to get Fitzgerald to stop the investigation, Blagojevich told him it couldn't happen. Robert admitted on the stand it was a bad idea.

Ettinger said it's not criminal to mention a bad idea to your brother.

Ettinger talked about Rod's relationship with Madigan, and how he couldn't get anything done, and how in phone calls, Rob told Rod that if he did the Madigan deal in exchange for the Senate seat, that he should make sure he's getting something in return. Otherwise he can't do a deal with "the devil" (i.e., Michael Madigan).

Ettinger said that Rob was in Chicago to do one thing-- help fundraise-- and that he didn't mix government with fundraising.

Ettinger said again how the prosecutions's two main witnesses testified that Robert was honest and that he did the best job he could.

As Ettinger started to talk with the jury about Jesse Jackson, Jr., the judge said it's time to take a 15 minute break.

Ettinger said that Rob relayed the Freveletti complaint (about fundraising for Blagojevich but not getting any state contracts) and that's all Robert did.

Ettinger talked about how the Indian community had supported Blagojevich for a while with fundraisers, but donations were down in 2008 for various reasons.

Ettinger talked with the jury about the October 2008 meeting Rob had with Bedi, and how Bedi told Rob that Nayak would raise money for Rod if he would appoint Jesse Jackson, Jr. to the Senate seat. Ettinger said that the Indian community brought the offer to Rob, that Rob didn't ask for it.

Ettinger said that Rob told Bedi no, that they didn't even know who was going to be elected President, and that Rod would not choose the Senate appointee in this way. Ettinger said the deal was dead once Rob said that to Bedi.

Ettinger said that the prosecution doesn't have a single tape on which Rob is offering "this for that."

Ettinger talked about Rob's conversation with Babu Patel. Patel told Rob there was talk in the Indian community about raising a million dollars for Rod if he appointed Jackson Jr. to the Senate seat.

Ettinger said Rob told Patel that Rod would go through a thorough process and do what's best for the State of Illinois, and that nothing else mattered.

Ettinger said Rob also told Patel and Bedi that money would not be a factor in Rod's appointment process.

Ettinger said that Rob was being sarcastic when he told Rod in a phone call that the Indian community was "making a full court press for Blagojevich... pay to play."

Ettinger talked about a December 4, 2008 phone call between Rob and Rod, when Rob was at a Starbucks with his wife. In this call, Rod tells Rob to "pretend the whole world is listening" when Rob talks with Nayak the next day about elevating Jackson in consideration for the Senate seat.

When Robert said to Rod, "yeah, yeah," Ettinger said he was just placating his brother, not agreeing to pay to play. Earlier, Rob testified that he was agreeing with Blagojevich to get him off the phone. Harris also testified that he tried to end calls the same way.

Shortly after this call, Robet called Nayak to set up a meeting for December 5th.

(At this point, the judge gave Ettinger his five minute warning. Ettinger said he might go over by five minutes, and the judge said that was okay.)

Ettinger talked about how Rob doesn't meet with the "second millionaire" that Nayak said he knew who could raise money for Blagojevich.

Ettinger talked about how Rob and Rod met on December 6, and Rod told Rob how to handle Nayak. The government claimed this meeting was a rehearsal, but Ettinger said that's not true.

Ettinger asked, "What does Rob have to do to show he's not involved in pay to play for the Senate seat?" He said that Rob told Bedi and Nayak and Patel, that money was not a factor, and that Rod would make the best decision for the people of the State of Illinois.

Ettinger said Robert Blagojevich is innocent. He said if the jury listened to the evidence and remembered what Rob did -- not what his brother did -- that he should be found innocent on all four counts.

  Attorneys Present Closing Arguments in Blago Trial | Originally Reported by MyFoxChicago.com