Blagojevich Busted

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Gov. Rod Blagojevich isn't backing down. In a one-on-one interview with CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine -- his most extensive since his arrest – the governor blasted state lawmakers who are trying to remove him from office and likened his upcoming impeachment trial to a "farce."

The impeachment trial in the Illinois Senate is less than a week away. If the governor was feeling the pressure from that trial and a separate federal trial, you couldn't tell Thursday afternoon. Still, he is clearly angry about the Senate bringing charges and not allowing him to call witnesses to defend himself.

The governor and one of his attorneys, Sam Adam Jr., spoke with CBS 2 after they met for several hours Thursday, still vowing to boycott the impeachment trial.

"To deny due process to any citizen, however high or low that citizen might be, and do a rush to judgment (and) not give me a chance to have witnesses is wrong," Blagojevich said. "I'm not going to be a party to something like that, and whatever the consequences are to me, I'll face those, because the larger issues at stake is the fundamental rights citizens in our country."

"We'd love to work with them and have rules fair, so we can aggressively who that I've done nothing wrong, and have done about everything right," the governor added.

Blagojevich argued that without proper procedures for impeachments, any future state executive can get railroaded.

"He'll be so afraid of taking on the Legislature, to stand in the way of raising taxes or fighting to provide health care for children as I've done, because he's afraid the legislature can do what … they're about to try to do to me," Blagojevich said. 

Asked about lawmakers' explanation that they cannot call witnesses because it could jeopardize the criminal case against Blagojevich, the governor responded: "It's very simple, then take criminal allegations out (of the impeachment trial). Allow the U.S. attorney to prosecute that case in court of law. I can't wait to have my day in court to prove my innocence."

Asked if he has considered stepping aside temporarily or resigning outright, Blagojevich said: "Put me aside … It's whether or not a legislature can have an illegal, farce impeachment process to throw government out."

There was also talk Thursday about dissension within the governor's legal team. Defense attorney Ed Genson was quoted as saying he's being left out of decisions regarding the impeachment trial. But in our interview, the governor went out of his way to praise Genson.

"He is nothing short of a modern-day version of Clarence Darrow," Blagojevich said.

Blagojevich also said his troubles have affected his family -- his wife, Patti, and their two young daughters.

"It's a very trying time for us personally," the governor said. "But we're working through it."

In a separate interview, Blagojevich compared his arrest to the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

"Dec. 9 to my family, to us, to me, is what Pearl Harbor Day was to the United States," Gov. Rod Blagojevich said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It was a complete surprise, completely unexpected. And just like the United States prevailed in that, we'll prevail in this."

As CBS 2 reported Wednesday night, Blagojevich is still considering going to court to block the impeachment trial, but he's also appealing to the public for support.

Blagojevich had an interview on WLS-AM radio later Friday morning to talk about the impeachment process and why he thinks it's a waste of time even to mount a defense. A news conference is also being planned.

Blagojevich was arrested at his home on Dec. 9 on federal corruption charges, including a claim that he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama. The prosecutor in the case filed his list of witnesses, and most are members of the house committee that recommended impeachment. 

The governor and his attorneys have said they'll try to block the state impeachment by going to court. Earlier this week, Illinois Senate President John Cullerton said he doubts they'll be successful.

"If they want to go to a court and have a court tell us to stop, that's up to them. But I cannot envision any court interfering with this process because we are following the constitution," Cullerton said.

Cullerton said the trial must take place before lawmakers deal with the state budget on Feb. 3 – anticipated to be the most difficult state budget in history.

As the Blagojevich saga continues, other state leaders and VIPs met Thursday for the first time as part of a panel that will recommend ways to clean up Illinois government.

Former federal prosecutor Patrick Collins heads the Illinois Reform Commission.

Other members include Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, Northwestern University coach Pat Fitzgerald and Southern Illinois University associate law professor Sheila Simon, the daughter of the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon.

Meanwhile, a Chicago radio station has offered Gov. Blagojevich a new job, whille a homeless agency has fired First Lady Patti Blagojevich from her $100,000-a-year job as its chief fundraiser.

During a show early Thursday, the program director at WLS-AM announced that if Blagojevich resigns, the station will offer him his own weekly radio program from noon to 2 p.m. on Sundays.

Program director Bob Shomper said the station is asking the governor to spare the state the embarrassment and expense of forcibly removing him from office.

Shomper says the station's offer reflects the will of the people, who he says want the governor gone.

On Wednesday, Chicago Christian Industrial League's board exercised a termination clause of Patti Blagojevich's contract on Tuesday, the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times reported on their Web sites.

Blagojevich, the 43-year-old mother of two girls, was "saddened" by the Board's decision, said Lucio Guerrero, a spokesman for the governor.

CBS 2's Joanie Lum and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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