Defense Begins Case in Blagojevich Trial

Rod Blagojevich Trial Extended Coverage >>

Chicago - The defense began its case in the corruption trial of Rod Blagojevich. Rob Blagojevich took the stand in his own defense after his wife, Julie, testified.

Key Points:

• As Rob Blagojevich took the stand for his defense, they tried to paint him as an all-American guy, serving 22 years in the military and serving on the boards of the Red Cross and YMCA. His wife testified he was reluctant to move from Nashville to help his brother fundraise in Chicago, but his mother had said she wanted Rob and Rod to be closer. He and his wife are expected to be the only witnesses for his defense.
• When asked about improprieties, Rob said, "I was told from the beginning, we don't mix fundraising with government." 
• The prosecution asked Rob Blagojevich whether State Rep. Kurt Granberg's job with the DNR was in exchange for a political donation.
• During a lunch-hour hearing, the judge denied a defense motion for acquittal on the grounds the prosecution did not meet their burden of proof.
• Defense lawyers have been trying to argue that Blagojevich did not intend to break the law when he was caught on a federal wiretap talking about getting something “tangible” for President Obama's Senate seat.
• Rod Blagojevich and his wife Patti are expected to testify. Rod Blagojevich will likely take the stand sooner than later, as the judge said he is a foundation witness. Notables the defense wanted to call to testifiy include Rahm Emanuel and Emil Jones. Valerie Jarrett was also subpoenaed to testify, but she is no longer on the witness list.

 

UPDATE:  5:30 p.m.
Blagojevich defense attorneys asked the judge to allow them to play three more calls.

The judge said no to the first call, but said parts of the second call between Blago and Chris Kelly might be allowed depending on testimony from Blagojevich. If parts of this call are played, Kelly will be testifying from the grave. Defense attorneys said this call can explain why Blagojevich handled the race track bill the way he did. Kelly was also charged in this case, but committed suicide in September 2009.

The judge said one section of the third tape can be played, because both sides agreed to it. The judge denied the defense's request to play other parts of this conversation on the basis that it's hearsay or irrelevant.

Court is now adjourned until 9:30 Tuesday morning.

The prosecution also filed a motion on Monday asking the judge not to release the jurors' names until after the trial.

Judge Zagel denied the initial request by several print media outlets to release those names. He is scheduled to revisit the issue again on Friday morning based on a ruling from the appeals court.

 

 

UPDATE:  4:50 p.m.
The prosecution asked Rob Blagojevich about his phone call with Quinlan. It was played earlier today. On it, Quinlan tells him not to mix fundraising and government.

The prosecution asked him again if he mixed fundraising and politics, and he said no.

The prosecution asked Rob Blagojevich about a December 5 conversation during which he talked with Blago about State Rep. Kurt Granberg and Blago mentioned getting a contribution out of Grandberg -- five to ten thousand dollars -- before the end of the year. Blago said, "We want to do it before he's the head of the DNR... one is not for the other, but see if you can get it there before we put him there."

The prosecution said Blago is telling his brother to get a donation from Granberg before Blago appoints him to the head of the DNR.

Rpn Blagojevich said, "It appears that way." When the prosecution asked if he called Jay Hoffman, Rob said he didn't know. The prosecution said, "We'll get back to that later."

The prosecution started to ask about David Chang, then decided it was a good time for a break. The judge sent the jury home for the day.

The prosecution said they will need a couple hours on Tuesday to finish their cross-examination.

The judge is going to hear a motion for additional tapes that Blagojevich's attorneys wants to play when they present their case.

  

UPDATE:  4:35 p.m.
In this call, Rob Blagojevich said he was not talking about trading the Senate seat for something of value; he said he was talking about it in the political sense of "horse trading."

He also said to Blagojevich, "If there is any focus, it should be on getting Fitzgerald out of your life." Rob said what he meant was that he was concerned about his brother being investigated by a U.S. Attorney. Rob said he thought the investigation was unwarranted, and that he was only suggesting Blagojevich do this if appropriate.

When prosecution asked if it was appropriate to stop a criminal investigation with some political horse tradigng, Rob Blagojevich said "yes, possibly."

Prosecutors asked Rob if he was instructed not to mix fundraising and politics. Blagojevich defense attorney Sorosky asked for a sidebar.

 

UPDATE:  4:30 p.m.
The prosecution is asking Rob Blagojevich about his time in the military, and how military police sometimes have to do investigations. Rob Blagojevich said yes, and that information is reported to military prosecutors.

Prosecutors asked Rob Blagojevich if, when he worked for FOB, that he (Rob) wanted Obama to stop the federal investigation into Blagojevich if they appointed Valerie Jarrett to the Senate seat. Rob Blagojevich said that's not true.

The prosecution asked Rob Blagojevich if he told Blago if would "put him in the clear" if he could get Obama to get U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald to stop his investigation into Blagojevich. The prosecution is now showing Rob Blagojevich a transcript of a call from November 5, 2008.

In the call, Rob Blagojevich tells his brother that he was thinking about the situation (ie, the investigations).

Rob Blagojevich said that prior to the Presidential election, Blagojevich had been approached by Rahm Emanuel about Valerie Jarrett getting the Senate seat. In the call, Blago said, "Yeah, he [Obama] wants that." And in the same call, Rob said," What horse trading do you do? He isn't going to make you his HHS secretary."

Rob said he used the phrase "horse trading" in the context of how politics get done, knowing Blagojevich had this investigation hanging over him and wondering what he could potentially do to get the investigation stopped. Rob Blagojevich also said he wasn't linking the Senate seat to Blagojevich getting the HHS position.

Rob Blagojevich refers to Fitzgerald as "a sword hanging over his head." Then, he said to his brother, If you can get Obama to have Fitzgerald stop the investigation in exchange for appointing Jarrett to the Senate, then Blago would have "total clarity." Rob Blagojevich testified he said this out of concern for his brother, and that he was naive to suggest it. Blagojevich told Rob Blagojevich that Obama couldn't get involed in criminal investigations.

The prosecution said that Rob Blagojevich brought up this scenario two times in the same call.

 

 

UPDATE:  4:15 p.m.
Between December 4 and December 6, Rob Blagojevich said he had not discussed the Nayak meeting with Blagojevich.

In the call on December 6, Rob Blagojevich said Blago told him he was going to meet with Jackson on Monday. In the call, Rob Blagojevich tells his brother he'll probably see Nayak at the India House event, and that's when he'll tell Nayak that Jackson is being elevated in consideration.

Rob Blagojevich said he told Blago he's going to tell Nayak that "one thing is not tied to the other."

Rob Blagojevich said they raised only $18,000 at the India House fundraiser, despite hoping to raise $50,0000-$100,000.

Rob Blagojevich said he told Nayak at the event that Blago was meeting with "Nayak's guy" (Jackson) on Monday that he didn't know who Blago was going to pick. "He was keeping it close to the vest," said Rob Blagojevich.

Ettinger is done with the direct examination. Rod Blagojevich's defense attorney said they have no questions.

The prosecution started cross-examination.

 

 

UPDATE:  4:10 p.m.
Court is back in session after a short break.

Ettinger is asking Rob Blagojevich about postponing his December 5th meeting with Nayak because of a Tribune story about Wyma wearing a wire.

Rob Blagojevich said he told Nayak he'd see him on December 6 at the steering committee event at India House in Schaumburg.

On December 6 at 12:39 p.m., the brothers talked and Rob Blagojevich mentioned Nayak. Ettinger played the tape.

 

 

UPDATE:  3:45 p.m.
When Blagojevich told Rob that he (Blagojevich) is trying to geta story in the paper about Jackson beign appointed to the Senate seat, Rob said he told his brother he didn't like that political maneuver.

Rob Blagojevich said Blagojevich wasn't listening to him in this call, because Blagojevich just wanted to hear someone agree with him.

Rob Blagojevich said that he also told his brother if he did appoint Jackson, he should send him (Rob) to or another fundraiser to the black community and collect donations.

Rob Blagojevich said his brother wanted him to tell Nayak that Jackson was being elevated to the seat to get people in Washington to help him with the Madigan deal.

Rob said he agreed to tell Nayak only that Blagojevich was elevating Jackson in his Senate considerations.

Rob Blagojevich said he's not sure what Blago was talking about when he said "if this is possible, some of this has to start right now, and we gotta see to it."

When Blagojevich told him to be careful about how he delivers this message so that others don't think he's mixing fundraising with the Senate seat, Rob said that was the message he got all along from Blagojevich and his advisors.

Rob Blagojevich said he didn't plan on talking with Nayak about fundraising when he called him, and then he agreed with Blagojevich's suggestion to meet with Nayak face-to-face rather than over the phone.

Ettinger asked Rob Blagojevich if, on the evening of December 4th, he was aware of a Tribune story about Wyma wearing a wire.

Rob Blagojevich said yes, he was aware of the story but not concerned about himself. He said Blago was under a lot of pressure after that story about Wyma, and asked him to postpone his meeting with Nayak.

The court went on a 15-minute break.

 

 

UPDATE:  3:30 p.m.
The brothers talked several times on December 4, 2008. Rob Blagojevich was going to pick his brother up at noon so they could go to a fundraiser. Rob Blagojevich said today's Senate pick was Gerry Chico, who "came out of nowhere."

After the fundraiser, Rob Blagojevich called his wife to go get a cup of coffee. Blagojevich's assistant called and said she had Blagojevich on the line.

Blagojevich said, "What do you need?"

Rob Blagojevich said he's frustrated by this, because he's been trying to get in touch with him and can't reach him.

Rob Blagojevich said he believed that Blagojevich wouldn't appoint Jackson, and that he wanted to work on the Madigan deal instead. Rob Blagojevich said he was trying to keep the conversation moving along, agreeing but not really interested in Blagojevich talking about the Senate deal.

Rob Blagojevich said he's not interested in this conversation because he's with his wife who's recovering from foot surgery and hasn't gotten out of the house much. He feels like he's already talked with Blagojevich several times that day.

 

 

UPDATE:  3:20 p.m.
When Nayak called Rob Blagojevich to confirm he received the two faxes, he did not mention fundraising. Rob Blagojevich said that no one from any Indian organization called him in late November or early December of 2008 to say they'd raise money for Blagojevich in exchange for Jackson being appointed to the Senate seat.

Ettinger is now displaying an exhibit.

In November 2008, after the election, Rob Blagojevich testified that he had numerous conversations with Blagojevich about the Senate seat.

In one call, Rob Blagojevich said his brother discussed Bill Daley, Oprah Winfrey, Danny Davis, Lisa Madigan and several others as possible appointees.

Rob Blagojevich said in a phone call on November 26, 2008 that Blagojevich was "all over the place" trying to make a decision for the Senate seat appointment. Several times it came down to Blagojevich appointing Lisa Madigan or himself. This same "Lisa or Me" choice was discussed on December 3 and December 4.

 

 

UPDATE:  3:10 p.m.
In the taped conversation, Rob Blagojevich said Babu Patel was bringing information to Rob's attention following the meetingat India House. Rob Blagojevich told Patel "they are not near Rod," meaning Bedi and Nayak are not close to Blagojevich. They talked about Jackson being appointed to the Senate seat, and funds being raised for Blagojevich in return.

In the conversation, Patel told Rob Blagojevich how this talk could negatively affect Blagojevich's and Jackson's political careers, and that he should advise Blagojevich not to do this.

Rob Blagojevich said he told Patel that he told Nayak and Bedi that Blagojevich had not made up his mind, and would go through a thorough process to pick a candidate. Nothing else mattered.

Rob Blagojevich said he was trying to think of ways to make sure Patel knew this approach was dead, and wasn't going to get past him; that's why he repeated the same message in different ways.

Ettinger asked about the December 6 fundraiser with the Indian community, which Rob Blagojevich said they started planning in September.

On November 14, 2008, Rob Blagojevich talked with Nayak. He said Nayak didn't talk about fundraising. But two letters were faxed to the Friends of Blagojevich office from the Indian community supporting Jackson for the Senate seat. Rob Blagojevich said he didn't show them to his brother, per his brother's request.

  

UPDATE:  2:50 p.m.
Ettinger is back to asking Rob Blagojevich about an October 31, 2008 Indian community steering committee meeting. It was held at the India House in Schaumburg and arranged by Bedi.

Blagojevich said he met with Bedi on October 28 at 2:30 p.m. to discuss the October 31 meeting. Rob Blagojevich said Bedi told him that Nayak wanted to do some accelerated fundraising on Blagojevich's behalf to get Jesse Jackson, Jr. appointed to the Senate seat. Rob Blagojevich said he was surprised by this.

Rob Blagojevich said he told Bedi that was not on the table, that Blagojevich would never consider Jackson because Jackson had not supported him as promised in a past election.

Rob Blagojevich said he told his brother about this conversation, and that Blagojevich dismissed it. "We thought it was just a joke," Rob Blagojevich said, because a new president had not even been elected yet.

Rob Blagojevich said that Bedi never brought up Jackson and fundraising again.

There were 20-25 prominent members of the Indian community at the meeting. Nayak was there, and Rob Blagojevich talked with him.

Rob Blagojevich said that Nayak reiterated what Bedi had told him: That Nayak was a close friend of the Jacksons, wanted Jesse Jackson, Jr. appointed to the Senate seat, and would raise a million dollars by the end of the year, plus another five million after that. Rob Blagojevich said he told Nayak no, that Blagojevich would do what's right for the people of Illinois. Rob Blagojevich said that Nayak understood and didn't press the issue.

Rob Blagojevich can't remember if he told Blagojevich about this conversation with Nayak; since they'd already discussed the issue on the 28th, it's possible he didn't.

Rob Blagojevich said he was in a "total sarcastic and joking mode" when he told Blagojevich in a phone call about emissaries for Jackson saying they were "putting on a ful court press" to raise a million dollars.

Ettinger asked Rob Blagojevich about a meeting with another member of the Indian community at the Friends of Blagojevich office.

Ettinger played another tape.

 

 

UPDATE:  2:30 p.m.
Ettinger asked Rob Blagojevich about dealing with fundraising from the Indian community. Rob Blagojevich said he dealt with Brian Daley and Rajinder Bedi primarily. Nayak, he said, was a bundler for fundraising from the Indian community.

In 2008, Rob Blagojevich said his brother hadn't raised much from this group; many in the community felt Blagojevich didn't pay much attention to them and they were lukewarm on donating.

Rob Blagojevich said Bedi suggested forming a steering committee of leaders in the Indian community with whom Blagojevich could donate to re-ignite interest.

The court went on a five minute break, because Rob Blagojevich swallowed something and it "went down the wrong pipe."

 

UPDATE:  2:24 p.m.
Court resumed after the lunch break. Rob Blagojevich testified he got paid for working as the Friends of Blagojevich chairman but he donated 65 to 70 percent of it to charity. The prosecution objected and the judge sustained.

Rob said he didn’t speak with Blagojevich about who to appoint to the Senate seat before Nov. 4 election. After the election, Rob testified, he was aware Blagojevich could appoint Obama's replacement and that Blagojevich "said something to him about the Senate seat" before the election. Rob said he was not part of any conversations Blagojevich had with his advisors about who to appoint.

Rob said he understood that Blagojevich was considering working for the SEIU after he left the governor's office and as far as he knew, the job was not lumped together with the Senate seat and Valerie Jarrett being appointed to it.

On Nov. 12, 2008 at 8:26 p.m. in a call between Rob and Rod, Rod asked Rob about his thoughts on who to appoint to Senate.

At 6 p.m. that night, Rob said he was at a fundraiser in downtown Chicago and he said Rod told the crowd about his desire to break the logjam in Springfield and his desire to pass the capital bill. Rod said one way to do that was to make an overture to Speaker Mike Madigan about possibly appointing Lisa Madigan to Senate. He said Rod also mentioned Jesse Jackson, Jr. in passing, but the focus was primarily on the Madigans. Rob testified he and Rod had brief discussions from Aug. to Dec. 2008 about the logjam in Springfield.

Rob apologized for offending anyone with the vulgarity in the phone call saying he didn’t expect anyone to hear him.

In the call Rod, asked Rob for advice on the Senate seat and Rob said any advice he could give was brotherly advice. He said he made the because he is not an attorney or a Blagojevich advisor, just his brother talking to him off the cuff.

Rob said in the call to Rod to get something for the seat, "tit for tat,” saying if he does a political deal like the Madigan deal to make sure he gets something for it in return, especially if you do a deal with the “devil,” meaning Madigan.

In the call Rob told Rod if he had to choose, Rob would choose Gery Chico, but he didn’t tell him to choose Chico nor did he say to get something in return for that choice.

Rob said he never gave Rod any political advice on how to deal with the Senate seat.

 

UPDATE:  1:49 p.m.
Attorneys returned from lunch to discuss motions in front of the judge. Rob Blagojevich’s defense attorney argued for playing a certain tape.

There was a motion for judgment for acquittal, but the prosecution argued there was overwhelming evidence of a conspiracy and racketeering as testified to by the government's witnesses and the tapes, plus documents. They said it was more than sufficient evidence to support each crime Blagojevich was charged with.

The defense argued the prosecution didn’t show unified purpose on the counts, and many questions were left unanswered

The judge said then was not the time to deal with whether or not the prosecution had met its burden of proof. While the judge said it was possible some of the counts may disappear, he said the defense overlooked two things in its motion for acquittal:

1. None of his aides or lawyers stopped Blagojevich, which could further prove basis for a conspiracy.
2. He said a good deal of intonation on the tapes is favorable to the prosecution proving its case.

The judge denied the defense’s motion for acquittal.

Zagel said he'd address issues regarding additional tapes either late Monday or Tuesday.

 

UPDATE:  12:45 p.m.
Rob testified he couldn’t recall ever meeting Blair Hull and never called him or asked him to raise money. He said either Rod or Monk brought up calling Hull for money. Rob said he didn’t participate in any efforts to get him to donate.

Rob said he first met John Wyma when Blagojevich was in Congress and met him again Aug. 1, 2008, when he started working at Friends of Blagojevich. He said Wyma was a bundler of health care clients, which lined up with Blagojevich's core goals.

Rob said he had several conversations with Michael Vondra, a client of Wyma’s, about holding a fundraiser for Blagojevich, but Vondra needed to delay it for family reasons. He said Vondra never held the fundraiser on Dec. 2, 2008 or donated money to Rod. Rob said he didn’t know until Dec. 5 what Vondra did for a living.

Rob said the first he knew about Children's Memorial Hospital was as a kid, when they had a 12-year-old cousin sick with leukemia. He said he was fond of the hospital because of the treatment they gave his cousin.

He said he never met or knew who Patrick Magoon was prior to July or Aug. 2008. Magoon's name came up at at an Oct. 8 fundraising meeting with Monk and Wyma, Rob testified. He said he vaguely remembered the meeting and a pediatric rate wasn’t discussed. He said private discussions were held outside his presence at the time and didn’t know what was said.

He said he wasn’t assigned to ask Magoon for a fundraiser, Wyma was.

Rob left a voicemail for Wyma on Oct. 9, which the prosecution played during their case. In the call, Rob said, "I know you are going to following up with Children’s Memorial Hospital and what are the next steps" based on yesterday’s meeting. Rob said he understood that Wyma was the one to follow up with the hospital on a fundraiser and wanted to keep track of how the fundraising process was going.

Rob said in the call, "I think they have the potential to do well by us." Rob testified in general, the health care field was a core constituency for Blagojevich and it was a natural place to go to for fundraising.

Rob testified within the next month, he talked to Wyma about other hospitals to fundraise with.

Rob testified when said, "Absolutley not. No," he wasn’t saying that Children’s Memorial should fundraise if they wanted the rate increase. He said he wasn’t particularly talking about the pediatric rate increase when he said “they have the potential to do well by us.”

Rob testified about an Oct. 22, 2008 meeting at Friends of Blagojevich and Magoon fundraising. Rob said he learned at the meeting that Rod had been contacted by Dusty Baker and was working on getting money for Children’s Memorial.

Rob said Rod asked him to call Magoon for a fundraiser. He said he was asked to make the call because Wyma didn’t feel comfortable for some reason, so he agreed to call. Rob testified he did not tell Magoon the rate increase was conditional on the fundraiser and that he wouldn’t do that.

When Rob did talk to Magoon on the phone, he introduced himself and asked ifhe would hold a fundraiser. He said Magoon said he'd check with the board and that he asked how much they wanted him to raise. Rob testified he said $10,000 to 15,000 dollars and that Magoon said he would call him back, but Magoon never called him back.

Rob said they asked Magoon for a fundraiser because Magoon was a previous contributor, not based on some action Rod was asking for.

Rob said he called Magoon several times and left at least one voicemail saying he was following up on their previous conversation.

Rob testified about a phone call from Nov. 12, 2008, in which Rob told Rod he never heard back form Magoon after leaving three messages, he felt stupid and was going to stop calling Magoon. Rob said it was pretty clear Magoon was not going to call him back or hold a fundraiser. Despite that, Rod asked Rob to call Magoon again, so Rob said he’d call on Monday.

In a Nov. 14, 2008 phone call with Wyma, Wyma said he was no longer a lobbyist for Children’s and Rob said Magoon was not calling him back.

On Nov. 18, 2008, Rob and Wyma spoke again about other healthcare companies to fundraise from. When it came to fundraising, Rob said he primarily focused on "people who had benefited" from Rod’s policies.

Rob said he mostly asked health care companies to fundraise and that Rod had an anti-gun stance when it came to gun control, being why Rob didn’t contact any gun makers for donations.

The court recessed for lunch.

 

UPDATE:  12:10 p.m.
Rob Blagojevich testified he never attended any political meetings Blagojevich had in his Springfield or in Chicago office from Aug. 1, 2008 to Dec. 9, 2008. Rob said Rod tried to keep him separate from his work as governor because Rob Blagojevich was told in the beginning, "We don’t mix fundraising with government." Rob testified he was never asked for his political advice or input.

Rob testified he never talked fundraising with Blair Hull, John Johnston or Gerald Krozel, that Lon Monk had those conversations.

Rob said he talked to Monk about Johnston in early Aug at a Friends of Blagojevich (FOB) fundraising meeting. Johnston testified earlier in the trial that he believed Rod was holding off on signing a race track bill until the received a campaign contribution. Rob testified he understood that Johnston would be making a donation and that it didn’t have anything to do with the race track bill.

Rob Blagojevich says he wasn’t ever filled in on what was said when Monk and Rod spoke privately in Rod’s FOB office during fundraising meetings

Rob testified about a phone call the prosecution played between him and Rod from Nov. 2008. In the call, Rob told Rod about a "timing” issue Monk had mentioned earlier, and Rob told Rod he didn’t know what that meant.

Rob testified he was told Johnston had committed to $100,000 contribution before he got there and he was following up on it. Rob said that was what he understood and believed. He said he never spoke to Johnston and Monk assured him there was nothing wrong with the fundraising effort.

Rob testified he never requested a fundraiser from Krozel.

Rob testified Monk called a meeting Sept. 18, 2008. He happened to be there and they called Rob in. Rob said he met Krozel at the meeting and there was talk about Krozel’s ill wife, the capital bill and politics in general. He testified he didn’t recall Monk asking Krozel for any money at that time. He also didn’t remember if he attended the whole meeting.

Rob said he knew the Tollway bill was pending at the time and that he did not ask Krozel for a fundraiser. He said he didn’t expect Krozel to donate anything; he said it was too vague if there was any potential there for him to donate.

 

UPDATE:  11:46 a.m.
Around July 11, 2008 -- Rob Blagojevich and Julie had dinner with Rod Blagojevich and Patti to go over the offer to for Rob to work as chairman of Friends of Blagojevich (FOB). Rob testified he started as chairman on Aug. 1, 2008.

Rob said he received fundraising advice beforehand from Rod, Bill Quinlan, John Harris, Lon Monk, John Wyma and the attorney for FOB. He said he didn’t have any formal training but did talk to a former FOB chairman.

Rob said he learned and/or was told to never to tie campaign contributions to state actions or contracts.

Rob said he was initially provided donor lists to be used for fundraising, including names of fundraisers. He said he would fundraise by calling people on the list and introducing himself.

Rob Blagojevich said Monk, Wyma, Doug Scofield and David Strickland were bundlers for Rod and had their own clients they raised money from. He testified he would only follow up with the bundlers as to how things were going.

He said they had a $2.5 million fundraising goal for the end of 2008, a number Rod came up with. He said Rod wanted that amount to show political strength.

Rob testified only $700,000 was raised by Dec. 9, 2008. Rob said it was hard to fundraise because of the presidential election, Blagojevich's reputation had been tarnished and because of his standing in the polls.

Daily, Rob Blagojevich said he'd make calls off the donor list, follow up with bundlers and do research to see if they could fundraise from the healthcare sector. Rob testified he'd talk to 20 to 25 donors a day about contributing to Blagojevich. Rob would introduce himself as Blagojevich's brother, say he was helping his brother and ask if the donor would help out again. Rob said he got more nos than yeses, and once the donor said no, Rob said he'd move on.

 

UPDATE:  11:15 a.m.
Rob Blagojevich said in 1999 and 2000 his brother Rod was in Congress. He said he talked to his brother one to two times a year, more when their mom was alive than after. He said they grew up on two different tracks and drifted apart as they got older. He said Blagojevich was more political, and he was more military and business focused.

Rob attended gubernatorial swearing in for Rod Blagojevich’s first term as governor in Jan. 2003.

From 2002 to 2006, Rob Blagojevich testified, he talked to Blagojevich maybe once a month and they saw each other once or twice a year. During the 2006 Blagojevich reelection campaign, Rob testified, he thought it would be the right thing to help his brother, so he came to Chicago in July or Aug. 2006 through the Nov. election. He wasn’t paid for the work, which was mainly canvassing neighborhoods, hanging signs, calling voters reminding them to vote for Blagojevich and some fundraising. He said Lon Monk was running Friends of Blagojevich (FOB) in 2006. He met Monk for the first time at Rod’s wedding, "whenever that was."

Rob said he was asked to target ethnic communities that had shown some interest in the past for Rod, including the Korean, Serbian, Nigerian and Polish communities, to get donations. He said there weren’t donor lists to work off of then, and it wasn’t that structured.

He returned to Nashville after the 2006 election and continued working his real estate business.

In 2008, Rob Blagojevich came to Chicage in late June to see his son, the city and to see Rod and his family. Rob’s family has a condo in Uptown where Alex currently lives.

When he came to Chicago, Rob Blagojevich testified, he hadn’t planned on working for Rod and was running his real estate business over the phone. He said he got a call from Rod on July 4, 2008 to come over. Rod talked about where he was politically, saying he was in a situation where he had few people he could trust and needed to fundraise. Rod asked Rob to fundraise for FOB through the end of the year.

Rob said he was flattered but wasn’t sure he could do it and told Rod he wanted him to tell Julie what Rod told him about the job. Rob also asked Rod about ongoing federal investigations at that time.

Rob said a lot of what Julie testified were points for him: as she mentioned, that their parents wanted Rob and Rod to be closer, and the FOB job would be a good opportunity for it.

 

UPDATE:  10:58 a.m.
Rob Blagojevich testified he did work with the International Red Cross in Nashville starting in 1995 and was made a board member to chair up the annual fundraising campaign. He said it was the first time he’d done fundraising. He testified the Red Cross spent money from fundraisers on disaster relief, and the organization depended on donations to get money.

To fundraise, Rob Blagojevich said he'd cold call and work off existing donor lists, asking those people to make contributions. He eventually became board chair for the Red Cross in Nashville, an unpaid position without even paid expenses.

When he moved back to Nashville in 2002, he also joined a group called Y-CAP YMCA that dealt with underprivileged, at risk kids to keep them of the street and out of trouble. It was also an unpaid, volunteer position that he testified he joined because he wanted to work with at-risk youth. He also fundraised for them and had a position as development director.

During this time, Rob Blagojevich also started his own business in multi-family apartment complexes. He said he got the idea for the business when he saw an infomercial on TV late one night by Carleton Sheets. Rob Blagojevich said he was looking to change careers because the bank he worked for had changed hands several times in the past few years and he wanted better job security.

Rob Blagojevich said he paid $300 for Sheets' book and wanted to follow his real estate advice. He started this business when he was in Tampa and said he bought about 100 properties in the Tampa area.

Rob Blagojevich said his multi-family apartment building business is based out of Nashville and has management teams in place to help run the properties.

 

UPDATE:  10:43 a.m.
Rob Blagojevich was the next witness for his own defense He identified his brother in the court room as Rod Blagojevich.

Rob testified he was born in Chicago in 1955, went to Lane Tech High School and went to college at University of Tampa.

Rob Blagojevich said when he was growing up, he and his brother Rod were "close; tied at the hip." He testified his father worked in a factory and his mom worked for CTA. Both parents came to the country from Serbia.

Rob Blagojevich majored in history at Tampa signed up for ROTC. He met his wife Julie in Western Civ class. He said they graduated in May and married in Aug. He went on to graduate school at Florida State for a masters in East European Studies and Julie paid his way through, working for the state of Florida.

He then started his active duty for ROTC. He had field artillery training, his first choice because his dad was a field artillery officer. Rob and Julie were stationed in Germany because he had specialized missile training on Pershing missiles. He had access to sensitive information and was given a special clearance. He served five and a half years of active duty. He joined the military reserves for 16 to 17 years, stopping in 2001. He left as a Lt. Colonel.

His son Alex was born in November 1982.

Rob moved to Nashville because his father-in-law was living there and there were job opportunities there. He did some work for a financial planning company and got a financial planners license. He was recruited by the largest bank in Nashville and supervised about 300 employees.

In the mid 1990s, Rob Blagojevich said the SEC was looking into his bank and the company sent him to Tampa, Fla. to take care of these regulatory issues.

In 2002 Fifth Third Bank recruited him to go to work for them in Nashville so he moved back.

 

UPDATE:  10:14 a.m.
The first witness for the defense of Rob Blagojevich was his wife, Julie. She is 54, lives in Nashville and she and Rob have been married 33 years this August after meeting at University of Tampa.

In 2008, Julie Blagojevich testified, she was working part time for Vanderbilt University in the library and Rob had his own business managing apartment buildings. Rob came to Chicago for the summer that year to see their son and enjoy the city.

Julie testified they'd talk to Rod and Patti Blagojevich a few times a year, and Rob would talk to his brother four to five times. She said they were not close.

Rob Blagojevich went to Rod Blagojevich’s house on July 4, 2008 for a few hours, and Julie testified Rob told her Rod asked him to chair Friends of Blagojevich from Aug. to Dec. 31, 2008. Julie said Rob was reluctant because his life was in Nashville. Julie reminded Rob that they told his mom the brothers would support one another, and it was a commitment to honor. She felt it was a chance for the brothers to get to know one another better.

Julie said she also told Rob not to accept a salary for the position because they didn’t need the money and it might have reflected badly in the press. She also thought they should talk to Rod and Patti about the job before taking it because of "swirling investigations” by the feds around Rod. They had dinner in Lincoln Square, and she testified Rod and Patti told them the federal investigation was behind them.

Julie went back to Nashville in Aug. to have foot surgery, testifying Rob came home every 10 days to see her until Nov. 24 2008, when she drove back to Chicago with him. Julie said there was already snow and ice on the ground and it was hard for her to get around because of the foot surgery.

There were no more questions for the witness and she was excused.

 

UPDATE:  9:25 a.m.
Blagojevich arrives at the Dirksen Federal Building. He made no statements to the media, but outside the courtroom said, "Show of hands here. Anyone here planning to testify?"

 

 

Blagojevich Defense Begins Case | Originally Reported By: MyFoxChicago.com

 

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