Two months ahead of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's trial, a status hearing in U.S. District Court Wednesday could see a decision on his lawyers' pretrial motions.
This week, Blagojevich's attorneys filed an overnight motion to bar FBI wiretap recordings from being played during the April 20 retrial, saying the hundreds of recordings at the core of the government's case contain gaps and lack context.
Another motion was filed earlier this month asking the government to produce a missing undercover tape that attorneys say can prove Blagojevich's innocence. They said the tape contained a conversation between Rahm Emanuel and a Blagojevich aide.
The lawyers also asked Judge James Zagel to make convicted fundraiser Tony Rezko and convicted influence peddler Stuart Levine available for questioning.
Blagojevich faces 23 charges, including trying to sell President Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat. His attorneys want counts of bribery and extortion dismissed because of a Supreme Court ruling on honest services laws.
