Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said Thursday that Gov. Rod Blagojevich isn’t entitled to a taxpayer-funded legal defense, dismissing requests from his attorney who claimed there was a misunderstanding about what he wanted.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said Thursday that Gov. Rod Blagojevich isn’t entitled to a taxpayer-funded legal defense, dismissing requests from his attorney who claimed there was a misunderstanding about what he wanted. Madigan’s office said the state wasn’t on the hook in either the governor’s impeachment or criminal cases. "It is absurd to suggest that taxpayers must finance the defense of a criminal action against Governor Blagojevich who is accused of corruptly betraying the public trust for personal and financial gain," Madigan chief of staff Ann Spillane wrote in a letter Thursday to Blagojevich attorney Ed Genson. Blagojevich was arrested last week on federal corruption charges that included trying to benefit from the Democrat’s sole authority to appoint President-elect Barack Obama’s replacement in the U.S. Senate. Spillane wrote that Genson had asked for special assistant attorneys general to be appointed and paid for by the state to represent Blagojevich in the criminal case. But, she said, prior court rulings indicate Blagojevich isn’t entitled to criminal legal representation on the state’s dime. Genson said he never intended to suggest such a thing. "There was some misunderstanding as to whether I was asking to be appointed in the criminal case. I never asked that," Genson said. In a letter Genson wrote Tuesday to Madigan, he asked that she "appoint counsel of Gov. Blagojevich’s choice" to represent him in pending legal matters, including impeachment, because Madigan has a conflict of interest. She has said the governor should resign and tried to have him ruled unfit to serve. It wasn’t mentioned in Genson’s letter, but Madigan also is considered a top contender for governor in 2010. Genson noted it was the attorney general’s job to ensure a defense in "all proceedings against any State officer, in his official capacity, in any of the courts of this State or the United States." Spillane also dismissed Genson’s assertion that the state had to pay for attorneys to represent Blagojevich in House impeachment proceedings. Spillane, in a letter to House Speaker Michael Madigan’s lawyer, called Genson’s assertion "meritless" because the impeachment proceedings are not taking place in court. "It just appeared to me that Lisa Madigan had an obligation, at least in these proceedings, to defend the governor. She chose not to," Genson said. AP ______ Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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