Prosecutors Fire Back At Blagojevich Attorneys
CHICAGO (AP) -- Federal prosecutors in Chicago are firing back at the attorneys who represented ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich during his corruption trial.
In a motion last month, Blagojevich and his lawyers alleged that a "plethora of errors" led to his conviction for lying to the FBI. The jury deadlocked on 23 other counts, and the Democrat is slated to go on trial again next year.
In a response Thursday, the government countered that overwhelming evidence led to the conviction and called any claims of prosecutorial misconduct "completely baseless."
Prosecutors also say Blagojevich's attorneys lied by telling the media that the his retrial would cost up to $30 million. The government calls that "preposterous," saying that's almost equal to the annual budget for the entire U.S. attorney's office.
Blagojevich's lead attorney at the first trial, Sam Adam Jr., hasn't returned a message seeking comment Friday.
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