"It's tough to scream 'witch hunt' when your
client is riding a broom," cracked one Statehouse reporter the other day
after Gov. Rod Blagojevich's defense attorney Ed Genson claimed the atmosphere
following Blagojevich's arrest was "a real witch hunt."
Genson's protestations have mostly fallen on deaf
ears, particularly with the Illinois House's impeachment committee. The
committee has shot down his objections time and time again in a clear attempt
to make sure Genson knows he is not in a courtroom and has few, if any, legal
legs to stand on.
Genson often hasn't helped himself or his client. He
got off on the wrong foot in his first appearance before the committee by
demanding the immediate removal of three committee members. Genson claimed
their statements from earlier in the week showed they had already made up their
minds about the governor. The request was rejected out of hand by House
Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, who chairs the special impeachment committee.
Truth be told, there are few if any members in the
entire House who have never said a prejudicial word about the governor. But the
committee is not a jury, so their personal beliefs about the governor's alleged
guilt don't matter. Genson's motion had no hope of success.
Actually, that pretty much sums up Genson's current
situation. No hope.
Genson has repeatedly asked for subpoena powers and
for more time to prepare his case. Denied. He has claimed that the evidence
being used by the committee contained in the federal criminal complaint against
Gov. Blagojevich isn't really evidence, that it was gathered
"illegally" and so the committee's use of it is "illegal."
He was reminded, again, that the committee is not a court and therefore
introducing the evidence was perfectly legal.
Genson demanded that the committee set a firm
standard for deciding the governor's guilt. Denied. He objected to the use of
"hearsay" evidence, which was itself based on "hearsay."
Shot down in flames.
"This is Alice in Wonderland," Genson
sighed at one point, frustrated by his inability to make any headway. Genson's
main point is that the governor talked big but did nothing wrong. "It is
just people jabbering," Genson said of the FBI's surreptitiously recorded
conversations. "There is no evidence that anyone ever did anything."
Evidence, however, is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to the
impeachment process.
Genson has complained repeatedly that his client is
up against an impossible situation. "The Constitution, the laws are
lacking," he said of the Illinois Constitution's bare minimum impeachment
requirement of 60 House votes. The House essentially needs no reason to
impeach. They just need the votes.
Majority Leader Currie summed up the
Genson/Blagojevich dilemma during a recent press conference. Currie was asked
about the trick box that Genson and Blagojevich were in, particularly the
complete lack of formal standards for ruling that there is enough evidence to
impeach.
Currie's answer was simple, but undoubtedly
maddening to Genson. Individual members would have to decide what their own
impeachment standards are, she said. Currie pretty much confirmed how
impossible the situation is for Genson and his infamous client when she added:
"The evidence will lead me to believe what the standard is." In other
words: Rules? Rules? We don't need no stinking rules!
I'm quite fond of Genson personally, but as I told
you above Genson hasn't helped himself with committee members, either. Besides
demanding that several step aside, he has often forgotten to shut off his
microphone. At one point during a recent impeachment hearing, Genson was
talking to an aide about a phone message. "Tell her the truth," he
was heard to say while his microphone was on. "I’m stuck at this stupid
hearing."
Oops.
Things just aren't going well for the famous trial
lawyer.
Also, despite what Genson claims, there is no witch
hunt. The witch hunt is over. The "witch" was arrested by the feds
this month and now the House has him tied to the stake. The House's next job is
to pile up the kindling beneath the witch's feet. The Senate's task is to light
the fire and remove the witch from office, one way or another.
Simply put, Genson is preordained to lose this case.
And it's all perfectly legal, proper and justified.
-30-
Rich Miller
also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and
thecapitolfaxblog.com.