Judge won’t allow Blagojevich defense to subpoena Obama

CHICAGO — The judge overseeing the corruption case against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has denied a defense motion to issue a subpoena for the testimony of President Barack Obama.

U.S. District Judge James Zagel said Friday that he does not believe Obama’s testimony would be material to the charges.

Zagel said the defense motion fell “very short” of demonstrating a need to subpoena the president.

The defense had said it wanted to question the president about Blagojevich’s alleged attempt to sell the U.S. Senate seat left vacant when Obama was elected.

Blagojevich allegedly met with a union official
about getting something from the Obama administration in exchange for
nominating Obama friend Valerie Jarrett to the seat.
The defense seemed to want to explore whether the official was actually
representing the Obama camp, which the judge said is immaterial.

“The only material aspect is what the defendant believed,” Zagel said, not what the official’s role was in reality.

Zagel said the issue could be revisited later in the trial.

After the hearing, defense lawyer Sheldon Sorosky noted Zagel did not fully shut the door on the subpoena.

“The judge did say that he still might allow the president to testify later on should it become necessary,” Sorosky said.

Obama could be needed to dispute allegations raised by fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko, who may be a witness in the case, Sorosky said.

The White House is going to “continue not to comment,” deputy press secretary Bill Burton said.

Obama has insisted that he and top aides were never part of any deals for the Senate seat and were unaware that Blagojevich may have been scheming to use his appointment power to enrich himself.

Defense attorneys did not indicate otherwise in
their motion, but they had contended that Obama’s public statements
contradict those of other potential prosecution witnesses.

The defense filing cited FBI interviews with labor officials, including one who said he spoke to Obama on the eve of his Nov. 4, 2008 election and said the soon-to-be-president believed that Jarrett “would be a good senator for the people of Illinois.” The union official said he told Obama he would convey that message to Blagojevich.

Obama ordered an internal investigation after
Blagojevich’s December arrest, and Jarrett told the lawyer leading the
probe that she met with Tom Balanoff, head of the powerful Service Employees International Union in Illinois, three days after the election. She said Balanoff told her he had spoken to Blagojevich about picking her as senator.

In the same conversation, Jarrett said, Balanoff
also told her that Blagojevich had raised the possibility of his being
named as secretary of health and human services in the new Obama
Cabinet, a possibility that Balanoff and Jarrett agreed would never
happen.

The filing alleges that the day after the election, a supporter of Obama suggested to Jarrett that she reach out to then-Illinois first lady Patti Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy, according to an interview Jarrett had with the FBI shortly after the former governor’s arrest.

The Obama supporter, who is not identified in the
filing, allegedly mentioned “fundraising” help for Blagojevich in
exchange for naming Jarrett to the Senate vacancy during a phone call to Blagojevich’s home that was secretly recorded by government agents the day before the election.

Jarrett withdrew her name from consideration eight
days after the election, and prosecutors contend that Blagojevich then
went on to entertain an array of other possible Senate contenders he could name in return for financial gain.

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