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CHICAGO – Lawyers for Rod R. Blagojevich, the former governor of Illinois, are asking a judge for access to notes from an interview President Obama had with federal authorities over his former Senate seat. The request was made in a motion filed Monday in advance of Mr. Blagojevich’s April 20 retrial on federal corruption charges. The judge rejected a similar request before Mr. Blagojevich’s first trial last summer. Mr. Blagojevich will be tried again on 20 counts after the jury in the first trial was deadlocked on most charges. Prosecutors claim that Mr. Blagojevich tried to sell the Senate seat...

Sam Adam Jr. has just accused President Barack Obama and his transition team of negotiating with Blagojevich. The offer came from Rod to Tom Balanoff, Adam says. Balanoff brought it to Valerie Jarrett and word came back from Rahm Emanuel through John Wyma. It's a negotiation they were in, he said of Obama and Blagojevich. "You start high and they come low," Adam said. In another comical moment, Adam mocks the prosecution and judge for keeping him quiet. Adam is trying to explain extortion to the jury when prosecutor Reid Schar shoots up. Adam is silent and puts his arm...

As federal prosecutors rested their case at 5:00 PM Tuesday in the corruption trial of impeached Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, it appeared that in the days following the 2008 election, President-elect Barack Obama had been drawn closer than ever to making a deal with Blagojevich regarding his Senate seat. But it also became clear that in reporting contacts with Blagojevich to federal authorities, Obama concealed a phone call and a face-to-face meeting between Blagojevich and one of Obama's spokesmen. Blagojevich is on trial for seeking personal compensation -- either money, or employment for himself (such as a Cabinet appointment) --...

From a public relations standpoint, getting forced out of the Illinois governor's mansion a year and a half ago was a smart career move for Rod Blagojevich. He's been all over the TV since, doing stints on such shows as "Celebrity Apprentice" and "The Late Show with David Letterman." But publicity may not be enough to keep him or several of his former allies out of prison. His long-awaited trial on fraud and conspiracy charges related to his attempt to sell Barack Obama's pending Senate vacancy to the highest bidder began on June 8, the culmination of a five-year Justice...

Yesterday, I raised the question as to why Barack Obama had chosen Illinois SEUI chief, Tom Balanoff, to be his emissary to Rod Blagojevich - to communicate his recommendation that Valerie Jarret be appointed to the US Senate. I noted that Blagojevich, in a taped conversation, can be heard offering his own explanation on the matter, namely, Obama wanted to distance himself from the pick etc. and wanted it to appear as if the appointment of Valerie Jarret was solely Blagojevich's decision. I expanded a bit on Blagojevich's explanation: Balanoff was... not part of Obama's inner circle, hence, he was...

Sheldon Sorosky, one of Rod Blagojevich’s lawyers, has been trying to drag President Barack Obama into the fray this afternoon, asking union official Tom Balanoff whether the FBI asked him about campaign money going to Obama. Prosecutors objected, as they have so often during cross-examinations, and U.S. District Judge James Zagel said Sorosky should only ask in general what the FBI had said to Balanoff. Rest @ link Sorosky tried the question again, using Zagel’s recommended wording. “I know that won’t be objected to,” Sorosky said, causing the nearby Blagojevich to laugh. But Balanoff didn’t get to give an answer,...

W.H. quiet on Obama-Blago link By: Glenn Thrush and Jonathan Allen June 29, 2010 06:50 PM EDT The White House was mum Tuesday after a union leader testified that Barack Obama personally asked him to approach then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich about appointing confidant Valerie Jarrett to his Illinois Senate seat. In testimony at Blagojevich’s federal corruption trial, Tom Balanoff said Obama — speaking a day before his Nov. 8, 2008 triumph in the presidential election — said that Jarrett wanted the job and was qualified, although he wanted her to join him in the White House. Balanoff, a close Obama ally...