Sam Adam Jr., one of the lawyers defending former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, makes a point for the media earlier in the trial.
Judge James B. Zagel sent the jury home for the day after Blagojevich's attorney Sam Adam Jr. complained the judge was gutting his closing arguments by not allowing the defense to mention witnesses that prosecutors did not call.
Prosecutors had mentioned some of those witnesses, including convicted fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko, in their closing argument, and Adam argued the defense should be able to do the same.
"Your honor, I have a man here that is fighting for his life," Adam said, turning red and raising his hands.
Zagel responded: "You will follow that order because if you don't follow that order you will be in contempt of court."
"I'm willing to go to jail on this," Adam shot back.
Zagel said he was giving Adam the night to rework his closing arguments, given his "profound misunderstanding of legal rules." He said another defense attorney could be designated to give the closing if Adam couldn't follow the rules.
The prosecution had wrapped up its closing arguments earlier, as did an attorney for Blagojevich's brother, Robert Blagojevich.
Both men have pleaded not guilty to an alleged scheme to sell the Senate seat that Barack Obama gave up when he was elected president, and to plotting to illegally pressure people for campaign contributions.
A 'Golden Ticket'
Earlier Monday, a federal prosecutor told the jury that Blagojevich was so desperate for money, he tried to shake down everyone from a children's hospital executive to president-elect Barack Obama.
U.S. Attorney Chris Niewoehner Niewoehner told the jury that Blagojevich was broke and that his personal debt soared 400 percent while he was governor.
Blagojevich "needed this golden ticket," Niewoehner said in reference to Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat. He wanted Obama to give him a Cabinet post in return for appointing Obama's friend Valerie Jarrett to the Senate seat, and ordered aides to negotiate with people he believed were White House emissaries, prosecutors said.
In a long, methodical closing statement, Niewoehner went through each of the 24 counts against Blagojevich and told the jury how for each of the counts, Blagojevich took specific actions that broke the law.
The prosecution used a large screen and the heading "Blagojevich Actions in Senate Shakedown" to list the ways in which he is accused of trying to sell the Senate seat for personal gain. Jurors also heard Blagojevich on hours of secretly recorded FBI wiretap tapes.
And to counter defense arguments that the former governor was all talk and no action in his alleged schemes, Niewoehner told the jury: "You don't have to be a successful crook to be a crook."
Niewoehner said Blagojevich ramped up his alleged moneymaking schemes in late 2008 because a new ethics law taking effect on Jan. 1, 2009, would have limited the amount of money he could accept from people and businesses doing business with the state.
Niewoehner said jurors heard Blagojevich try to shake down Obama for a job, heard him trying to get a $100,000 campaign contribution in exchange for signing a racetrack bill and trying to shake down a children's hospital executive for another contribution.
And, he said, Blagojevich lied to the FBI about the alleged schemes.
Niewoehner also urged jurors to "follow the money," citing witnesses who spoke about how money was "laundered" through now-convicted fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko and eventually given to Patti Blagojevich as bogus commissions for real estate work.
He also said that by the end of 2008, Blagojevich's personal debt had climbed 400 percent in six years. Niewoehner said Blagojevich's money woes also were because he spent elaborately on himself and his wife.
The prosecutor said that the people who previously had helped Blagojevich raise money essentially had to stop their fundraising because of FBI investigations into his inner circle.
Blagojevich, Niewoehner said, was "at the center of corrupt individuals."
"When you agree with someone else to commit a crime, you committed one," said Niewoehner, raising his voice slightly. "Talking is the crime, ladies and gentlemen."
Blagojevich's attorneys said their message to jurors will be simple: "First and foremost, the government has proved nothing," Sam Adam Jr. said over the weekend.
Blagojevich has pleaded not guilty to scheming to trade or sell Obama's old Senate seat and illegally pressuring people for campaign contributions. If convicted, he could face up to $6 million in fines and a sentence of 415 years in prison, though he is sure to get much less time under federal guidelines.
His brother, Nashville, Tenn., businessman Robert Blagojevich, 54, has pleaded not guilty to taking part in the alleged scheme to sell the Senate seat and plotting to illegally pressure a racetrack owner for a $100,000 campaign contribution.
Blagojevich's attorney is expected to give an animated closing in the former governor's defense that will try to show that the prosecution failed to prove its case.
With reporting from NPR's David Schaper and The Associated Press. [Copyright 2010 National Public Radio]
