How Much Time Would You Spend Impeaching The Governor Today?

By Karl Klockars in News on Dec 16, 2008 8:37PM

Okay, we know that the wheel of justice turns slowly, but when Mike Madigan says that he'll be working every single day except for holidays on the impeachment proceedings of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, we really expected more than 60 minutes of real reportable work. The Old Grey Lady is reporting that Federal prosecutors and Blago's defense people sat down for just an hour of hearings before adjourning til' tomorrow morning.

Why, you ask? In a word: "Concerns." Fitzgerald requested more details about witnesses to be called in the proceeding, worrying that the downstate comittee could affect his criminal prosecution with issues of witness testimony and immunity. Blago's lawyer, Edward Genson (who also confirmed he'd be Blago's council) also objected - because he wanted to be present for the hearings. Genson will be downstate tomorrow, he says. Watch out for that weather, homes.

So, what does Genson say about their defense?

“He’s not guilty, so we’re going to go to court. We’re not agreeing to impeachment. If you read these transcripts closely, you’ll find that nobody did anything. People are just talking, and that’s not against the law...Bad language doesn’t make you a criminal.”

Well...it's not really the f-bombs that we're worried about. It's all those other words around them.

And of course there's plenty going on behind the scenes that we're not seeing. There's tons of conversations being had, unseen work being done that isn't being reported, and the process of doing things right for once requires a serious eye on detail. If our state government bollocks this whole thing up, there will be no forgiveness for anyone. Maybe we're just being impatient - but it's safe to say that we pretty much all want to see the guy gone yesterday. Some fidgetyness is to be expected, and speed desired. It's a lot more than just one hour today - but more would have been nice.