Greta... Geraldo... Wendy: Blago Continues Media Blitz
Better Government Assocation: "Feds have the evidence and that's going to trump the circus act."
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Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich
The former, indicted governor Rod Blagojevich is continuing a media blitz in advance of his debut on a reality TV show Sunday.
Fresh off of reading the "Top Ten" on CBS' The Late Show with David Letterman on Tuesday, Blagojevich will appear Friday night on Fox News' "On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren," and Saturday on Fox News' "Geraldo."
On Sunday, he joins the likes of Sharon Osborne, Darryl Strawberry, Cindi Lauper and Donald Trump on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice."
Then, fired on the debut show by Trump or not, he'll sit down and say, "How you doin'" with talk show host Wendy Williams.
"The former governor is excited to be talking about "The Apprentice" and also enjoys weighing in on the issues that impact the lives of every day people," his publicist, Glenn Selig, said in a statement. "He has solutions to problems and keen insights to the political process. He knows how to take complex issues and break them down in such a way that anyone can understand them."
Blagojevich has been indicted on 24 counts of corruption in federal court, including racketeering, attempted extortion, bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to commit extorition.
He adamantly maintains his innocence.
Still, the charges are serious, and some observers think the constant media appearances could be part of the Blagojevich defense team's strategy to taint the jury pool.
"He's thinking, 'If I get popular enough, maybe jurors will go along with me, and jurors don't look at it as a popularity contest," said jury expert Bill Healy.
But likability or not, some think Blago's dog and pony show could be futile.
"He may let people play with his hair, but at the end of the day, the feds have the evidence and that's going to trump the circus act," said Better Government Association Executive Director Andy Shaw.
Posted Friday, Mar 12, 2010 - 7:23 PM CST
