Feb 2, 2009 5:56 pm US/Central
Ex-Gov. Blagojevich Continues Media Blitz
CHICAGO (AP) ―
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Gov. Rod Blagojevich was on radio station WVON for an hour Jan. 23, 2009, following a day of media appearances including a formal news conference.
CBS
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants to reiterate his innocence and recast his image in another slew of television appearances including CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman," a publicist said Monday.
Days after being booted from office, Blagojevich was also scheduled to appear Tuesday on NBC's "Today" show, CNN's "Larry King Live," and Fox's "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren."
QUESTION: I
f you were Dave Letterman, what would you ask Rod Blagojevich?
Blagojevich, who was removed from office last week, faces federal corruption charges including allegations he tried to profit from President Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat. He has said repeatedly that he did nothing wrong.
"It's important for him to be able to send the message that he didn't do these things and ... that he didn't let the public down," said Blagojevich's publicist, Glenn Selig. "He's been painted a certain way in the media until he started to do interviews. Before media appearances, people thought he was a crooked politician."
The former governor went on a media blitz last month, even boycotting part of his impeachment trial in the Illinois Senate to appear on ABC's "The View" and "Good Morning America." He was removed from office with a 59-0 vote on Thursday.
Before the verdict, Blagojevich delivered a 47-minute plea where he insisted he did nothing wrong.
"How can you throw a governor out of office with insufficient and incomplete evidence?" he asked lawmakers.
Selig said Monday that Blagojevich felt he did not get a chance to properly proclaim his innocence in the state Senate and that the comments by federal prosecutors have affected the public's perception.
"He's very concerned people think he let them down and violated their trust," Selig said.
Selig acknowledged concern Blagojevich could be the butt of jokes, particularly during the scheduled interview with Letterman. But other high-profile politicians, including presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, have also appeared on the show, Selig said.
"There are things you can joke about and things that are inappropriate to joke about," Selig said.
Blagojevich will not discuss details of the federal government's criminal allegations, which include charges the two-term Democrat tried to have Chicago Tribune editorial writers fired for writing critical articles of him and he illegally pressured people to make campaign contributions, Selig said.
Selig declined to answer if the interviews could negatively impact Blagojevich in a federal criminal trial.
Since Thursday, Blagojevich has spent time with his wife and two daughters at their Chicago home, Selig said. He declined to give details on what Blagojevich has planned for the future or if he has any job offers.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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