Unplayed Blagojevich Tapes Added To Record, Will Stay Sealed
CHICAGO (AP) -- A court in Chicago has confirmed that transcripts of FBI wiretaps not played at Rod Blagojevich's corruption trials have been made part of the official appellate record.
That decision Tuesday by the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals came as it also rejected a request from the imprisoned former Illinois governor's defense to unseal the records.
Defense attorneys submitted the records late after realizing they weren't in an initial batch of documents. That raised questions about whether the panel would include them in the record.
While the court accepted the records, it didn't say whether appellate judges would or wouldn't factor them into a decision on Blagojevich's appeal.
The appeal argues Blagojevich's alleged crimes were legal political horse-trading and that the unplayed FBI recordings supported that contention.
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