>>
governor
rod blagojevich
is here for an exclusive interview. good morning to you.
>>
good morning.
>>
let's talk about where things
stand
today. you were once one of the most powerful politicians in this country. at one point you had ambitions to become president. as of today you're out of a job. your political future looks dead and you're now a
convicted felon
. do you take any responsibility with what's become of you?
>>
meredith, let me point out when the government targets you and prosecutors want to get you and they spent six years spending tens of mlts of taxpayer's money and so many have asked how much did he spend of the taxpayers 'money and he failed to get any corruption charges. there is a
false statement
they allege i made. but that's not true.
>>
you were convicted.
>>
we're going to appeal that. and as you point out we didn't put a
defense
on. my lawyers were very certain the government failed to prove any corruption --
>>
you don't take any responsibility for anything that happened to you?
>>
i would say that looking back, if i could change some things --
>>
what would you change?
>>
certain people i put faith in and trust and advisers and different people. but you have to understand, less than 2% of the tapes were played in court. the government put their
best case
on and failed to prove any corruption. "the
wall street journal
" just came out in an editorial suggesting the prosecutor should be fired or resign because it's been an abuse of his power. "the
washington post
" --
>>
right after the trial you said this was a persecution and not a prosecution and also said the jury agreed with you that the government did not prove its case. but the
foreman of the jury
was with us the next day and said that was not true and said the only reason you were not convicted of trying to sell that senate seat was because of one lone juror and in fact he voted to convict you on all counts. another juror said she's glad there's going to be a retry. a third juror said if they do retry him they might be in trouble. he was lucky. given that, do you want to gamble on another trial or would you like to make some sort of a
plea deal
?
>>
no. i'm absolutely very determined to seek full vinld case.
>>
you will not seek a
plea deal
?
>>
i have done nothing wrong. this is by a prosecutor who for six years targeted me and spent tens of millions of dollars trying to get me. the questions people should be asking and you should ask in the media what happened the day before when they came to my house at 6:00 and arrested me a sitting governor. i want to challenge this prosecutor. let me challenge this prosecutor -- the prosecutor to release all the evidence and every tape, every transcript that happened the day before i was arrested, two days before i was arrested, a week before i was arrested, ten days before i was arrested. this trial we put no
defense
on and they failed to prove any corruption charges.
>>
the main charge that you tried to sell that
u.s. senate
seat 11-1 in favor of convicting you that has got to be sobering to you.
>>
the fact of the matter is we didn't challenge it. there was no case that explained that conversations -- let me point that out. the very thing they're trying to convict me of, political
horse trading
and in this case it's really disgusting, possibility with political advisers. remember sent to me by the president himself political
horse trading
. this is what they're now trying to criminalize. these prosecutors who by -- who act in a way where they're making deals with convicted felons and in exchange for their testimony these felons come in and say what the prosecutors want them to say the very thing they're charging me with they ought to charge themselves with and add an additional count of hypocrisy.
>>
it sounds like you're saying this thing is so bleep gold i'm not going to give it away.
>>
there's a new
federal judge
today because reportedly a congressman voted for
president obama
's
health care
plan and in exchange the congressman's brother became a fellow judge. that sort of politics is how our country operates.
>>
so that's
business as usual
in
chicago
, i'll scratch your back, you scratch mine.
>>
there is a
u.s. congressman
who voted for
president obama
's
health care
plan whose brother is now a
federal judge
. political
horse trading
. they're trying to do selective prosecuting and criminalize what is
political behavior
but in this particular case there was no behavior. there was strictly discussion and ideas floated openly with lawyers and advisers --
>>
before the trial, during the trial you said repeatedly, i want to take that
stand
. i want to clear my name. you said it so many times. just watch. we put together a few of the comments.
>>
i expect to be fully vindicated and clear my name. i can't wait to take the
stand
and testify and get the truth out. every day gets by i get close to taking that
stand
myself. i will prove my innocence and i will testify.
>>
there have been reports since then your
defense
team did a
mock trial
to put you on the
stand
. that you did not do well and they figured you would be clobbered by the prosecution and that's why you did not take the
stand
. you're saying that is not true at all?
>>
they threw everything but the
kitchen sink
at me. the power of the
federal government
with millions and millions of dollars they can spend with taxpayer money. they failed to convict me of corruption charges without putting on any
defense
.
>>
why didn't you take the
stand
?
>>
our legal team determined after the government put its case on that they didn't prove any corruption and as a result made a determination there was no credence to their trial.
>>
if there is a retrial will you commit that you take the
stand
since it meant so much to you to take the
stand
?
>>
i wanted to take the
stand
the first time around and i would be fully prepared to take it the second time around if there is one. the big question is why are they wasting taxpayer money? in
chicago
, your network program "dateline" they showed police are gunned down and children are shot in front of their homes. instead they should use that money in my view to be able to address the real crime problems in places like
chicago
--
>>
i think some people would agree with you that having a retrial is going to cost a lot of money. in fact you're out of money as
john yang
said. you spend $3 million of your
defense
money. can you afford another trial?
>>
you fight against all odds. the fact of the matter is i'm up against a giant goliath and take solace in the biblical story of david. i don't have a slingshot but i have truth on my side. the government failed to convict me of any corruption charges. let me remind you that this prosecutor had me arrested a sitting governor. he said he was stopping a
crime spree
before it happened. december the 9th,
2008
. i challenge him --
>>
some would argue this is not failure by the prosecution. this was matter of poor
jury selection
and if there is a retrial because of that 11-1 vote on the most significant charge against you, you're going to be in trouble.
>>
no. the fact is when the government has all the advantages that they have and all the money that they have and in cases like this if you talk to the experts, they never, ever fail to get the guy they're trying to get. well, they didn't in this particular case. again, every charge related to corruption, 23 of them, none of them were guilty.
>>
let's put the
criminal charges
aside. no matter how you slice it it did not paint a pretty picture of you. came across as vulgar, interested in
public office
. even your
defense
referred to you as a dim bulb did basically what politicians do. that's got to hurt. those are the guys on your side.
>>
well, what i was about to do on december the 9th and 10th and december the 8th it was pretty much set up and the president's chief of staff
rahm emanuel
was part of the deal. that was to do things for people. again in america you're supposed to have the freedom to be able to talk freely on the telephone and in my case lawyers and advisers -- if there was any intent to break any law, i wouldn't be speaking so freely thinking out loud and brainstorming. there was a tape played before that jury that says it has to be done legally and obviously.
>>
this has got to have been very difficult for you and your family. going forward could -- i just wonder about how you can handle this mentally and physically.
>>
well, again, it's an upside down story. again, i want to challenge the prosecutor because i agree we'll release all the evidence to the public. there are 2,000 conversations with me. they refuse to play all of them. they ought to play the tapes on december the 8th,
december 7th
, two days and the day before i was arrested. they stopped jobs and
health care
and protecting taxpayers from higher taxes.
>>
under any circumstances, will you accept a
plea deal
?
>>
absolutely not. we are going to win. we've already won the first round. we're going to win this one. i will appeal that
false statement
from five years ago that they trumped up.
>>
even though you do not have a job you did a really good job in "
celebrity apprentice
." will we see you in another show? will you be with snooki?
>>
that verdict doesn't trump made in the
board room
firing me was the right one. this one where the government failed to prove a case was --
>>
i tease you. could i see you doing something like that again? is that in the cards.
>>
>> which one?
>>
doing
reality television
again.
>>
here's what the government does when they want to get you. they squeeze you financially so they force you to be in a position --
>>
are you going to do another
reality show
?
>>
if the opportunities are there i will certainly take a look at it of course.
>>
thank you. anything you want to say? to that lone juror quickly?
>>
i would always say i have always had a deep abiding faith in god and it confirms praise god. thank her for her and her good judgment. the reality is if we had put a
defense
on i would have probably been acquitted.
>>
you think you should have been on the
stand
?
>>
it's easy to second guess.
>>
are you going to dump these lawyers that called you a dim bulb?
>>
my lawyers are great and they did something no one does. they slandered me across the world when they said i was selling a senate seat for money, the world. political judgments in my world are still legal and
horse trading
and discussing those things are still legal and has even today when the congress votes.
>>
thank you very much. really appreciate it.
rod blagojevich
.
“ ”