In news that is sure to just delight President Obama, lawyers for Rod Blagojevich, the indicted former Illinois governor, would like to subpoena the president to testify in Blagojevich’s corruption trial, which will begin this June. The lawyers argued in a motion filed today that Obama can shed light on the primary accusation levied against Blago — that he solicited gifts in exchange for an appointment to the seat left vacant by Obama when he was elected president.
According to the Times, the filing issued by the defense indicates Obama was “more tangled in the discussions over who would fill his Senate seat than has previously been suggested.”
“In the motion, Mr. Blagojevich’s lawyers seem to suggest that the president himself could point up contradictions in the testimony about whether he had sent ‘emissaries’ to Mr. Blagojevich with regard to who the White House would prefer fill the Senate seat.”
Neither the White House nor the Chicago federal prosecutor’s office has commented on the request.
Blagojevich Wants to Subpoena Obama [Caucus/NYT]
