On the day his lawyers are making a case for acquittal, Rod Blagojevich entered the courtroom holding a copy of the children's book "The Incredibles," a book about a superhero family that someone reportedly gave him in the bathroom.
He's going to need a superhero type of argument from Sam Adam Jr. if he hopes to escape the 24 counts he's facing.
Adam Jr. started out like everyone expected:
"There's a big pink elephant in the room and you know it," the bespectacled lawyer told the jury. "I promised you in opening statement that Rod was going to get up there and take the stand. I had no idea that in two months of trial they (the prosecution) would prove nothing!"
"I told you he'd testify. We were wrong, I was wrong. Blame me," he went on to say, in a bid to mitigate the damage caused by the former governor not testifying on his own behalf.
"He had no intention of bribing anybody, no intent of extorting anybody," Adam Jr. said. "Think about it! They're telling you he's trying to extort the President of the United States! Give me a break! The number one law enforcement official in the country."
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Adam Jr. argued to the jury that Blagojevich was only warming to the Jesse Jackson idea, because he thought it would pressure others to support his real choice, Lisa Madigan.
"It was working!" he said. "You know why it didn't go through? Because THEY arrested him December 9th!"
The prosecution objected to the statement calling it "totally inappropriate."
Judge James Zagel agreed.
"It's turning into a show," the judge said.
Adam Jr. has 2 and 1/2 hours to make his remarks and convince the jury that his client is innocent.
If he succeeds, it'll be nothing short of incredible.
