Ish Guvernatori i Illinoit Blagojevic gjendet fajtor per korrupsion Ex-Illinois

 
Ish Guvernatori i Illinoit Blagojevic gjendet fajtor per korrupsion

Ex-Illinois Governor Blagojevich guilty of corruption

 
 
 
 
Një juri amerikane ka gjetur fajtor ish guvernatorin e Illinoit Rod  
Blagojeviç në porthuajse të gjitha akuzat ndaj tij gjatë rigjykimit për  
korrupsion. 
Zoti Blagojeviç tha se ishte “habitur” nga verdikti, i cili erdhi të hënën 
 pas disa ditë diskutimesh. 
Ai u gjet fajtor në 17 nga 20 akuzat, përfshi përpjekjet për të shitur apo  
shkëmbyer vendin në Senat të lënë bosh nga Presidenti Barak Obama. 
Gjykimi i tij i parë përfundoi vitin e kaluar me juristët të bllokuar në 23 
 nga 24 akuzat ndaj tij. Ai u gjet fajtor vitin e kaluar për deklerata të 
rreme  ndaj agjentëve federalë amerikanë. 
Rod Blagojeviç u arrestua në dhjetorin e 2008. Senati i Illinoit e dënoi 
atë  më pas për abuzim pushteti dhe votoi për largimin e tij nga pushteti. 
Zoti Obama dha dorëheqjen nga vendi i tij në Senat menjëherë pasi u zgjodh  
president në vitin 2008. Ai ka thënë se nuk ka patur asnjë kontakt me  
Blagojeviçin ose zyrën e tij në lidhje me zëvendësimin e  tij.



 
 
 
 
 
Former Illinois Governor Blagojevich found  guilty







 
 
 




 
 
 
 (http://www.reuters.com/article/slideshow/idUSTRE75Q41Q20110627#a=1) 





 
 (http://www.reuters.com/article/slideshow/idUSTRE75Q41Q20110627#a=2) 





 


 
 (http://www.reuters.com/article/slideshow/idUSTRE75Q41Q20110627#a=4) 


 
 
 
Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (L) looks at his wife Patti before 
 they leave the Dirksen Federal building after being convicted on 17 of 20 
counts  in his second corruption trial in Chicago, Illinois June 27, 2011.  




CHICAGO (Reuters) - A jury convicted  disgraced former Illinois Governor 
Rod Blagojevich on Monday of corruption for  trying to trade the U.S. senate 
seat once held by President Barack Obama for  financial and personal gain. 
Blagojevich, a two-term Democrat thrown out of office in 2009, was found  
guilty on 17 of 20 counts by the jury of 11 women and one man. Several of the 
 convictions call for prison terms of up to 20 years, though he is likely 
to  receive a lesser penalty. 
"I frankly am stunned," the normally effusive Blagojevich said after the  
verdict. "There's not more to say other than we want to get home to our 
little  girls and talk to them and explain things to them and try to sort things  
out." 
The conviction of the flamboyant Blagojevich, 54, contrasted with the  
inconclusive end to the former governor's first trial in August 2010 when jurors 
 deadlocked on 23 of 24 counts against him. He was convicted of lying to  
investigators, and prosecutors opted to retry him. 
In seven days on the witness stand, Blagojevich insisted he was merely  
engaged in political gamesmanship but did not intend to sell the Senate seat or 
 anything else. Instead, he said he was attempting to gain leverage to 
advance  his policy agenda and admitted a tendency to talk too much. 
One of the jurors told reporters after the verdict that she found  
Blagojevich's testimony "manipulative" and that it was "very clear" he was  making a 
trade for the senate seat. None of the jurors identified  themselves. 
Prosecutors argued he was clearly seeking to extort campaign contributions  
and other benefits in exchange for official acts, even if there was no 
evidence  he received any. 
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said Blagojevich's actions went beyond  
"politics as usual." 
"There is legitimate politics. There are grey areas," Fitzgerald said.  
"Selling a senate seat, shaking down a children's hospital and squeezing a  
person to give money before you sign a bill that benefits them is not a grey  
area, it's a crime." 
Zagel ordered Blagojevich to remain in the Chicago area until he is  
sentenced. Former federal prosecutor Jeff Cramer said he expected Zagel to  
sentence Blagojevich to between seven and 10 years in prison. 
BUTT OF JOKES 
The jury acquitted Blagojevich of a single bribery count related to 
donations  sought from a construction contractor. The jury deadlocked on two other 
counts,  one related to a school grant sought by then-U.S. Representative 
Rahm  Emanuel. 
Key evidence in the case was profanity-laced FBI recordings of Blagojevich  
speaking with aides and political associates. His tirades, along with his  
carefully-groomed black hair and pricey wardrobe, made him the butt of  
jokes. 
When the charges against Blagojevich and his top aide were announced in  
December 2008, the case threatened to taint the Obama administration. 
Blagojevich instructed aides to seek from the incoming administration 
either  a Cabinet post, an ambassadorship or another high-paying position for him 
in  exchange for naming Obama aide Valerie Jarrett to the Senate seat. 
Former White House Chief of Staff Emanuel, Chicago's new mayor, testified  
that the incoming administration never offered Blagojevich anything. 
Obama and Blagojevich also shared a friendship with Antonin "Tony" Rezko, a 
 Chicago businessman and political fund-raiser who was convicted of bribery 
 related to his unofficial role filling state jobs in Blagojevich's  
administration. 
Rezko did not testify but the corrupt practices revealed in his trial and 
the  conviction of Blagojevich's Republican predecessor George Ryan have 
helped  stigmatize the state's political establishment. 
"I don't think one should underestimate the resiliency of the practice of  
corruption in the state of Illinois. It's a hideous bog," law professor 
Ronald  Allen of Northwestern University told Reuters. 
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said he hoped today's verdict "draws this 
sad  and sordid chapter in Illinois history to a close." 
Blagojevich was a local prosecutor before marrying the daughter of a 
powerful  city alderman who eased him into Congress as a U.S. Representative for 
Chicago's  North Side. 
Blagojevich later feuded with father-in-law Richard Mell, who may have 
fueled  the federal investigation by saying the then-governor had put state jobs 
up for  sale. 
Blagojevich was the first Democrat to be elected Illinois governor in 30  
years in 2002. 
After his dramatic arrest by FBI agents, Blagojevich broke an unspoken rule 
 of silence often followed by defendants by protesting his innocence and 
granting  extensive television interviews. 
The state legislature impeached, and then threw him out of office on 
January  29, 2009. His estranged lieutenant governor, Democrat Pat Quinn, was 
sworn in  and won a full term in 2010. 
An unemployed father of two daughters and saddled with debts, Blagojevich  
sought roles on reality television shows, acted as a pitchman and wrote a 
memoir  to earn money. 
He had a short stint on "Celebrity Apprentice" but was fired by show host  
Donald Trump. 
Chicago resident Coby Hakalir, 33, said the jury took its time and he 
trusted  that justice was done. 
"I hope this decision brings us one step closer to cleaning up this corrupt 
 state," Hakalir said.