Blagojevich's Lawyers to Call Mayor to Testify

By Chuck Sudo in News on May 25, 2011 1:40PM

As if Mayor Emanuel didn't have enough to worry about dealing with city business and sifting through all those Greenpeace messages, now he's getting drawn into the Rod Blagojevich retrial, which is starting to take on the circus-like atmosphere we were hoping for once news broke that the Hair Helmet was taking the stand. While Blagojevich practices what he's going to say when he takes the stand, an Emanuel spokesperson confirmed that the mayor will be called to testify by Blagojevich's attorneys.

Emanuel's name heads a list of high-profile witnesses that also includes Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., aka "Senate Candidate No. 5." Emanuel told the Sun-Times Monday, "I’m ready, if asked, to answer questions, as I was in the first trial. ... In this trial, I’ll answer questions, if asked to." Both the mayor and Jackson are expected to deny any under-the-table discussions regarding allegations that Blagojevich was trying to sell off the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama when he was elected President.