Blago Judge: Request to Cancel Retrial a "Publicity Stunt." Sun Also Rises in East, Sets in West

By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 21, 2011 6:40PM

Judge James Zagel threw down the "call a spade a spade card" today and said the request from Rod Balgojevich's attorneys to cancel his retrial was nothing more than a publicity stunt intended to play the trial out in the court of public opinion. Well, Zagel didn't say that, in so many words. Zagel's exact words indicated the motion was "intended for an audience different than the court." But you get the gist.

Blagojevich's lawyers filed the motion a couple of weeks back as part of their "throw it against the wall and see what sticks" strategy because the federal government, which is paying for Blagojevich's legal fees this time around, hadn't reimbursed them for legal fees going back to October. Since then, Blagojevich's attorneys have been paid up through their January invoices, but Congress, which thinks funds to Planned Parenthood are bad but giving a $40 million tax break to NASCAR is A-OK, could be targeting cuts to the judiciary, leaving the timely payment of the rest of the Blago team's invoices uncertain.

Zagel said that he hadn't formally ruled on the motion because Blago's team hadn't properly presented it to him in the form of "noticing" the motion. But he made it pretty clear that he will deny the motion once it's properly brought to his attention.