Impeachment Committee Reconvenes

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Dec 29, 2008 6:30PM

After getting in a grueling two-and-a-half days of work in before the Christmas break, the State House committee investigating whether or not the state legislature should impeach embattled Governor Rod Blagojevich is shaking off the egg nog hangovers and getting back to work. Among the items the panel plans to handle are Blago Attorney Ed Genson's expected submission of President-Elect Barack Obama's internal report on the matter as a means of evidence supporting Blago's innocence and awaiting word from U.S. Patrick Fitzgerald as to whether or not they'll get to hear those wiretap tapes.

It appears Genson will get his wish on the submittal of the Obama report, but committee chair State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie expressed doubts about whether or not the report would aid Blago's case, saying, "Maybe in this particular instance someone didn't run a stop sign, but it doesn't say they didn't run a different stop sign." The report submittal is Plan B for Genson, whose request to subpoena some of the individuals involved (such as Rahm Emanuel and Valerie Jarrett) was denied by the panel. Said Genson, "Since I can't subpoena anyone, this is the next best thing." We suppose, though it conveniently leaves out all the nasty things the Governor said that were listed in that pesky federal complaint. But, hey, it's all context, right?

Genson also argued this morning that the charges aren't justified:

Attorney Ed Genson says hearings held by the impeachment committee weren't fair to Blagojevich. He says the Democratic governor wasn't given enough time to prepare, wasn't allowed to call witnesses and didn't get to cross-examine people who testified.

Genson also argued Monday morning that the House committee didn't spell out what burden of proof must be met. Without that, he says, the evidence can't support an impeachment recommendation.

Meanwhile, for anyone still confused as to the time-line of events, the Sun-Times has a quick run-down that puts everything in order.

Photo of Ed Genson via AP/Seth Perlman