After 30 days of trial and 14 days of deliberation in the up-and-down Rod Blagojevich corruption trial, the jury has announced it’s verdict.
Of the 24 counts against Rod Blagojevich, the jury found Rod Blagojevich on only one count, the Martha Stewart offense (making false statements to investigators stemming from a 2005 interview). The jury was hung on all other counts. That offense carries a maximum of 5 years and a $250,000 fine.
Of the 4 counts against Robert Blagojevich (his campaign chief towards the end of 2008), the jury was unable to come to any unanimous conclusion on any count.
As a result, the judge has declared a mistrial on the remaining counts enabling the prosecution to try again, which they said in court they will absolutely do. A hearing was scheduled for August 26th to discuss that matter.
In theory, the prosecution could attempt to retry on any counts that came back as hung but they will have time to decide that issue. However, this is good news for Blagojevich and signals that his defense team, despite much criticism, masterfully managed to dodge the bullet for their client… this time.
Despite this verdict (or lack thereof), Rod Blagojevich will never be able to serve in Illinois public office again due to his impeachment (he could run for federal office, however).
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