After 14 days of deliberation, jurors returned to the judge Tuesday mostly deadlocked on political corruption charges against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Northwestern alumnus.
The jury found Blagojevich (Weinberg ’79) guilty of lying to federal agents, which carries a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. But they could not agree on the 23 other counts, including trying to sell or trade President Barack Obama’s former Senate seat and several wire fraud charges.
U.S. District Judge James Zagel declared a mistrial on the other charges. Prosecutors said they intend to re-try the case.
The verdict came as a shock to many who had assumed Blagojevich would be found guilty due to several damning audio recordings.
In one recorded conversation, the former governor said of Obama’s Senate seat, “I’ve got this thing, and it’s [expletive] golden. I’m just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing.”
Blagojevich, who was unanimously impeached by the Illinois House of Representatives last year, pleaded not guilty to all 24 counts and maintained his innocence throughout the process.
He even came to NU in March to deliver a speech on “ethics in politics.”
“Many of you must think it’s kind of ironic that I would agree and accept an opportunity to come here and talk to you about ethics in government,” he said at the event.
“I am innocent of all charges,” he said. “I was not only ethical and followed the law, but I kept my promises.”
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