• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Live vIdeo feed: Verdict may be near in Blagojevich trial

Share

CHICAGO -- Jurors deliberating the corruption case against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich asked the judge on Tuesday for advice on filling out their verdict forms, suggesting they are near to rendering a verdict.

Follow on Twitter @MSJournalist

Tuesday was the 14th day of deliberations — and the fourth note in as many days of deliberations. The succession of notes appears to signal at least some disagreement in the jury of six men and six women.

Blagojevich, 53, is charged with 24 counts, including charges he tried to sell or trade Obama's old Senate seat for a high-paying job or campaign cash.

His 54-year-old brother, Robert Blagojevich, a Nashville, Tenn., businessman, faced four counts. Yesterday, jurors had asked for transcripts of the testimony from former deputy governor Bradley Tusk and Zagel agreed to hand it over to them.

Tusk had testified that Blagojevich planned to hold up a $2 million grant to a school in then-U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel's district until his Hollywood-agent brother, Ari, held a fundraiser.

He testified that he ignored a Blagojevich directive to deliver the message to Emanuel, saying he thought the plan was "illegal and unethical."

Some trial observers saw the request for that testimony as a more hopeful sign for prosecutors. Notes toward the end of last week, though, seemed to offer the defense reason for optimism.

The jury had advised Zagel last Thursday signaling they were stuck on many of the 24 counts against Blagojevich and had agreed on only two. Zagel told them to deliberate further on 11 wire fraud counts that they had not considered.

Many observers took that note as a potentially positive development for the defense — a sign that jurors may, at the very least, were struggling to agree.

Suggest a video. E-mail a link HERE.