Jan 5, 2009 9:52 pm US/Central
Committee May Impeach Gov. Before Tapes Released
Members Appear Confident Vote Will Go Forward Regardless Of Wire Tap Availability
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich speaks at his first press conference since his recent arrest Dec. 19, 2008. in Chicago. (File)
Scott Olson/Getty Images
State senators met behind closed doors Monday to write the rules for Gov. Rod Blagojevich's impeachment trial. The trial appears to be on the fast track, and the full House is expected to be called to Springfield for an historic impeachment vote as early as Wednesday.
CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports members of the House are hoping to hear undercover wire taps, specifically four conversations the impeachment committee believes are evidence of a classic pay-to-play scheme. But, state lawmakers are moving so quickly, those tapes may not be released in time to be useful in the hearing.
"If there's a smoking gun on the tapes it would be valuable to us, but we will not wait very long for that because we want some kind of finality to this," Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie), a member of the 21-person impeachment committee, said.
The tapes involve the horse racing industry's effort to extend legislation calling for payments of tens of millions of dollars from the state's riverboat gambling casinos. Gov. Blagojevich, his aide-turned-lobbyist Lon Monk, and racetrack executive John Johnston are heard on the tapes.
"We've been assured that Mr. Johnston is not a subject or a target of the investigation," Johnston's attorney Dan Reinberg said. Reinberg said Johnston is instead a victim of demands by the governor.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's office has agreed to release those tapes to the committee. But attorneys for the governor and others say not so fast. Their body language Monday seemed to indicate that they would try to stall release of the tapes until well after the state legislature finished its work.
But David Ellis, counsel for the impeachment committee said, "These tapes do not make or break the case."
In fact CBS 2 has learned the committee may be very close to issuing articles of impeachment, with a vote to impeach by the entire House possible by week's end.
"If the House sends a bill of impeachment to the Senate, he will be tried and convicted, and removed from office," Rep. Jim Durkin said. "It could happen by the first week of February or the last week of this month."
The best those pushing for the governor's removal can probably hope for is the tapes being available for the trial in the Senate. And even that might be too soon, if things move as fast as Durkin predicts, and Blagojevich's attorneys do all they can to object, including a demand that the government release all its tapes, amounting to thousands of hours, rather than just the few minutes its offering.
On Thursday, the entire house has been summoned to Springfield to be ready to vote on impeachment by week's end.
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