Ousted Gov. Blagojevich’s brother seeks separate trial, says evidence will unfairly taint him

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Blagojevich brother asks judge for separate trial

CHICAGO — Rod Blagojevich’s brother told a federal judge Thursday that he doesn’t want to be tried on corruption charges alongside the ousted Illinois governor because witness testimony against his brother could bias jurors against him.

Businessman Robert Blagojevich filed court papers asking a federal judge for a separate trial. Most of the evidence gathered by federal prosecutors focuses on his brother and he worried about a “spill over” effect, according to a motion filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

Jurors would hear “a great deal of evidence that would not be admissible against Robert Blagojevich if he were tried alone,” the motion said. “This poses a danger that the jury may be prevented from making a reliable judgment about Robert Blagojevich’s guilt or innocence.”

The former governor is charged with scheming to sell or trade President Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat and illegally pressuring potential campaign contributors.

Robert Blagojevich, a Nashville businessman and former Army officer, is charged with helping him as chairman of the Friends of Blagojevich campaign committee.

Both have pleaded not guilty and their trial is scheduled to begin June 3.

Attorneys said the brothers still get along, although the relationship has been strained by the pressures of the criminal case.

The motion listed several reasons for separating the trials, including public remarks by U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald in December 2008 following the former governor’s arrest by FBI agents. The prosecutor said among other things that corruption on the part of Rod Blagojevich would make Abraham Lincoln “roll over in his grave.”

Robert Blagojevich also asked U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel to reconsider his decision not to postpone the trial, in part because defense attorneys could use more time to go through the mounds of evidence in the case.

Defense attorney Michael E. Ettinger, who filed the motion, declined comment.