Blagojevich is charged with using his office to enrich himself and close associates, including allegations he tried to sell the
Blagojevich’s lawyers have previously suggested they might try to question the president.
“
The defense said it still has not received notes from
Blagojevich’s lawyers contend that some of Obama’s
public remarks that no representatives of his had any stake in any
alleged deals Blagojevich had over the
and federal prosecutors. That allegedly contradictory information has
been blacked out of the new filing, though the defense asked in a
footnote that the entire filing be unsealed.
The filing said that only Blagojevich — who is
expected to testify in his own defense — and the president can
corroborate some of Blagojevich’s claims that there was no conspiracy
to sell the seat.
“
who can say if emissaries were sent on his behalf, who those emissaries
were, and what, if anything, those emissaries were instructed to do on
his behalf,” the motion states.
Obama also may have pertinent information about
a top fundraiser for the former governor and an alleged co-schemer, the
defense said. The president can testify about “Mr. Rezko’s reputation
for truthfulness as well as his own opinion of Mr. Rezko’s character,”
the filing said.
He can also give information on Rezko’s methods, the
defense contended, citing an infamous real-estate deal between the
Rezkos and Obamas in which Rezko paid for a strip of property next to
the Obamas’
The defense said it understands the security
concerns raised by its request to question the president and then
proposed conducting a videotaped deposition of him.
———
(c) 2010, Chicago Tribune.
Visit the
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
