It was day two of former Blago top aide John Harris' turn on the witness stand and there was lots to sort through: a deal with Emil Jones, that "golden" senate seat, some of the Blago Tapes, and even Rod's hope to be a diplomat (you know, in case those aspirations to be President or a professor didn't pan out). The day began with talk of Blago's legal fees and how much he owed, even as far back as 2007. Talk then turned to the coveted U.S. Senate seat belonging to then-Presidential candidate Barack Obama beginning with a deal, Harris said, Blago thought he had with then-state senate president Emil Jones. Blago had amended the passed ethics bill and hoped Jones would hold up an override vote that would pass the original version of the bill because the original version would otherwise hinder. Blago's fundraising efforts. According to Harris, Blago intended to offer the seat to Jones if the bill was held up. But after some persuasion from Obama, Jones let the ethics bill vote go through, upsetting Blago who then allegedly said, "No way he's getting the seat now." more ›

Day Five of the Blagojevich trial saw the beginning of witness testimony against the former governor. First up, FBI Agent Daniel Cain explained the process behind bugging Blagojevich and others. The investigation began, according to Cain, after someone filed a report about extortion for a state board appointment, which led to Rezko, and then more information came in from lobbyist John Wyma. The Tribune's Bob Secter called Cain, "cool and deliberate and unassuming," as he methodically described the ins-and-outs of the process of monitoring 8 different phones and two bugs between October 22, 2008 and December 9, 2008. Of the 5,000 calls the FBI monitored, Cain said around 1,100 were relevant to the case. Aaron Goldstein cross-examined Cain, focusing on how the FBI must stop monitoring conversations that have no relevance to the case, emphasizing that investigators might have missed some piece of conversation that could have helped exonerate Blagojevich. more ›

Former governor Rod Blagojevich, freshly re-indicted on those pesky corruption charges, is hoping to air those secret tape recordings authorities made while investigating him. Why? Because he believes allowing the jury to hear all of the tapes will put the conversations into a fuller context. With around 500 hours of conversation recorded, wading through it all is a tall task but Blago and his attorneys think it key to proving his innocence, telling the judge he is, "desirous that the recordings be heard in open court by the jury, believing as he does that a full airing of the recordings will establish his innocence of every count in the indictment." Blago has pleaded not guilty to all 24 charges brought against him in the new indictment. After an appearance in court, Blago said, "Play all the tapes, play all the tapes ... Play the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." more ›

The Sun-Times is reporting that the cell phone of Lon Monk, Blagojevich's first-term chief of staff and longtime friend, was tapped as part of the federal investigation into the governor. Monk was identified in court filings as "Lobbyist 1." The discovery was made as prosecutors seek to get some of the Blago Tapes released for the State House impeachment committee. We'll have a bit more on that ongoing struggle a bit later. more ›