Jan 8, 2009 5:59 pm US/Central
Panel Votes Unanimously To Recommend Impeachment
Committee Finds Charges That Governor Sought To Sell Obama Seat 'Shocking'; Full House May Vote On Impeachment This Week
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) ―
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Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich speaks at his first press conference since his recent arrest Dec. 19, 2008, in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
An Illinois House committee unanimously recommended Thursday that Gov. Rod Blagojevich be impeached for abuse of power.
The decision sets the stage for the full House to take action Friday and make Blagojevich the first governor impeached in Illinois history.
The 21-member committee began studying impeachment after the Democratic governor was arrested in December on a variety of federal corruption charges.
The panel based its recommendation on those charges and other allegations of misconduct by Blagojevich. They include evidence he circumvented state hiring laws, misspent tax money and expanded programs without proper authority.
If the House impeaches Blagojevich, the Senate would then conduct a trial on whether he should be removed from office. The Senate Democrats reportedly are considering hiring an experienced special prosecutor to present the case in the Senate later this month -- preparing for what appears to be inevitable.
The governor's attorney was at Thursday's House committee proceedings, but Blagojevich remained at his Chicago home. A spokesman called the impeachment process "flawed and biased" and said it denied Blagojevich due process.
Earlier Thursday a draft report was released that recommended that the full House vote on impeachment.
Read The Full Report (.pdf)
"The citizens of this state must have confidence that their governor will faithfully serve the people and put their interests before his own," the report reads. "It is with profound regret that the committee finds that our current governor has not done so."
The 69-page draft report was released Thursday morning by the impeachment review committee. The report outlines all the criminal charges against Blagojevich, including his alleged plan to sell the U.S. Senate seat recently vacated by President-elect Barack Obama, to withhold state assistance for the sale of Wrigley Field if Chicago Tribune editorial writers were not fired, and to shake down Children's Memorial Hospital.
The report makes extensive use of the FBI's wiretap transcripts that led to criminal charges against Blagojevich. The wiretaps reveal the governor talking about trading the vacant Obama senate seat, and calling the appointment "golden."
The governor was not just musing, according to the report. At times, it says, he gave positive direction to fundraisers and others to move forward with the plan. Also, the committee document says Blagojevich knew his scheme was illegal and improper.
House Speaker Mike Madigan, a Chicago Democrat who has battled with the governor for years, defended his party's not acting sooner.
"Without the criminal complaint, we didn't have enough to impeach," he said.
Blagojevich attorney Ed Genson knew he couldn't stop Thursday's landslide.
We "came here knowing odds were stacked against (the governor), but hoped they'd do the right thing," he said. "They didn't."
Genson didn't stay around for the final vote. And he did not expect to remain for the full House impeachment vote, either.
There's no indication the governor plans to step down anytime soon. In fact, just the opposite: In his statement today, Blagojevich's spokesman predicted the outcome will be different in the Senate.
Not even his attorneys are that optimistic.
CBS 2's Mike Parker and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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