The ex-governor of Illinois has declared victory after a jury deadlocked on all but one count in his corruption trial for allegedly trying to sell President Barack Obama's vacated senate seat.
Rod Blagojevich, the flamboyant politician turned reality television star, vowed to appeal his sole conviction for lying to federal agents while US prosecutors promised a new trial on the charges of racketeering, bribery, attempted extortion, and wire fraud.
It is "absolutely our intention to retry this," said assistant US Attorney Reid Schar. The guilty verdict for lying to the FBI carries a maximum five-year jail sentence.
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The case involved the 53-year-old Blagojevich's alleged attempt to sell Obama's vacated Senate seat to the highest bidder and gain a prestigious appointment for himself after Obama was elected president in November 2008.
Obama resigned his Senate seat after he was elected president, which gave the governor the ability to name a successor until the next scheduled elections.
Blagojevich was arrested in December 2008, two months after Obama won the White House race, and gained instant fame after recordings circulated of him apparently calling the vacant seat "fucking golden" and promising not to give it up for free.
After a two-month trial in which he declined to take the stand in his own defense and one of his own attorney's labeled him "not the sharpest knife," the politician known for his pompadour hairstyle emerged from court proceedings defiant.
"The government threw everything but the kitchen sink at me and on every charge except for one they could not prove that I did anything wrong and that I did break any laws except for one nebulous charge from five years ago," he told reporters.
"So Patty and I are going to continue to fight, because this fight is a lot bigger than just me and my family. This is a fight for the very freedoms that we as Americans enjoy -- the right to be innocent, the right to be able to do your job and to not be lied about."
The two-month trial featured Blagojevich's colorful take on his power to appoint Obama's replacement.
"I mean, I've got this thing and it's f***ing golden and I'm not just giving it up for f***ing nothing," Blagojevich told former aide Doug Schofield on a recording.
When asked at trial what he understood Blagojevich to want, Schofield testified: "He wants an appointment from the president."
The affair has again shone the spotlight on Chicago's corruption-tainted political scene, but Obama and his administration have managed to escape the scandal unsullied.
Five of the past nine Illinois governors have been indicted or arrested for fraud or bribery. Blagojevich's predecessor, Republican George Ryan, is serving a six-and-a-half year jail term for fraud and racketeering.
Jurors began deliberations on July 28. Last week they informed the judge that they were unable to reach a verdict and asked for his help. The judge instructed them to continue deliberations until they could agree on at least some of the charges.
The trial included an allegation that Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. was present at a meeting in which a fund-raiser discussed raising one million dollars for Blagojevich in exchange for the Senate appointment.
Despite repeated threats, the case fell short of touching the White House.
White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and top advisor Valerie Jarrett were both subpoenaed by the defense, but ultimately were never called.
A judge blocked Blagojevich's attempt to subpoena president Obama, but said he would revisit the issue if trial testimony warranted it. The defense never brought it up again.
The trial was cut short after the prosecution pared down its case and after the former governor decided he would not take the stand, despite his repeated promises he would testify and demands that prosecutors "play all the tapes."
Blagojevich, who ultimately named fellow Democrat and state attorney general Roland Burris to the seat, was impeached by the Illinois state legislature in January 2009 for corruption and misconduct. He was kicked out of office shortly thereafter.
He spent the months before his trial proclaiming his innocence on the US media circuit, including a well-publicized stint on Donald Trump's show "Celebrity Apprentice."
