Blagojevich Testimony: Day 5 Play-by-Play

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Read live blogs of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's first, second, third and fourth days on the stand.

5:15 p.m. Defense says it still has more witnesses to call after Blagojevich.

5:10 p.m.: Zagel to attorneys: the cross-examination is going to be a mess. Prosecution believes cross-examination of Blagojevich could take two more days, but "that depends on Blagojevich."

5:02 p.m.: Jurors released. No court Friday.

4:59 p.m.: After being asked several times, Blagojevich finally answers "yes," he was concerned that Tony Rezko was cooperating with the FBI.

4:53 p.m.: Prosecutors are now using facts in Blagojevich's own book to contradict his testimony about picking Lisa Madigan for senate seat.

4:48 p.m.: Blagojevich's attorneys continue to try and object to questions but Rod ignores them and gives answers anyway.

4:44 p.m.: Blagojevich gets in a zinger. "Did I say that?" Schar: "Not an exact quote." Blago: "Why don't u show me that because you're good at that." (From the Chicago Sun-Times' Natasha Korecki)

4:39 p.m. Schar: "Did you ever tell the public you had your staff research ambassadorships, salaries, lobby jobs for Patti?" "Blagojevich: "No"

4:35 p.m.: Schar: "Did you purposely keep the 'good for me' part from the people of IL?" Blagojevich: "I wasn't announcing all the dumb, ugly, stupid ideas."

4:30 p.m.: Schar: "Did you tell anyone at the press conference that you wanted HHS or 501c4?" Blagojevich: "I'd like to see the whole press conference."

4:28 p.m.: Defense attorneys keep trying to object to line of questioning. Judge overrules almost all of them. "Your client is acting as his own lawyer," says Zagel.

4:26 p.m.: Prosecution plays video of Dec 5 press conference when Blagojevich says he was not interested in the senate seat for himself.

4:22 p.m.: Prosecution: "So you were going to deceive the public?" Blagojevich: That's not how I saw that."

4:19 p.m.: Schar confronts Blagojevich with a false newspaper report (that he'd had a meeting with Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.) Blagojevich: "It was a misdirection, not factual, untrue." Schar: "It was a lie."

Blago: "I tried to be as truthful as possible, but politics is an unusual business." - and - "It's the quarterback faking a handoff, throwing long. It's simply a part of our political business."

4:14 p.m.: Judge Zagel has to finally intervene to get an answer from Blagojevich.

4:12 p.m.: Schar continues to ask the same question about recording devices in an FBI interview until Blagojevich gives him a yes or no answer. Blago says it's already been asked and answered.

4:05 p.m.: Visibly fired up Reid Schar and Blagojevich already engage in a war of words about a press conference following his arrest

4:04 p.m.: Blagojevich asked if he thought conviction on lying to the FBI was wrong. He says that's the reason we have appellate courts.

4:00 p.m.: First question from prosecution attorney Reid Schar in cross-examination: "You are a convicted liar, right?" Blagojevich answers: "Yes."

3:59 p.m.: Blagojevich was on the stand for 18 hours and 45 minutes over five days.

3:52 p.m.: Defense finishes with Blagojevich. Government will begin cross-examination in five minutes.

3:51 p.m.: Judge Zagel does not allow Blagojevich to describe Dec 9, 2008, the day he was arrested.

3:50 p.m.: Blagojevich denies ever demanding, threatening or trying to exchange anything in return for the Senate seat. "No, absolutely not," he said.

3:45 p.m.: "I went to bed that night, thought it was a day or two away from making [Lisa Madigan Senator]," Blagojevich says.

3:43 p.m.: Blagojevich says on Dec 8, if Rahm Emanuel had agreed to be go-between and approach Lisa Madigan about the Senate seat, the deal would have been done.

3:22 p.m.: The day before he was arrested, Blagojevich told his chief of staff John Harris that if he had to make a Senate pick that day, it would be Gery Chico.

2:59 p.m.: Judge Zagel no longer waits for objections from prosecution. He now cuts off and stops Blagojevich as soon as the question was answered.

2:26 p.m.: Blagojevich says he owes Lisa Madigan and Cong. Jesse Jackson Jr. apologies.

1:59 p.m.: Blagojevich acknowledges that in December 2008. he told aides that forces close to Jesse Jackson Jr. had offered him over a million dollars in campaign funds, in exchange for naming Jackson senator. Blagojevich says no one ever came to him directly to offer the money.

1:53 p.m.: After lunch and for the first time during the entire retrial, the jury switches things up and the three men finally sit in the front row of the jury box.

12:03 p.m.: Blagojevich begins talking about the importance of vegetables and is quickly stopped by Judge Zagel, who said, "No campaign speeches."

11:52 a.m.: Blagojevich says he talked with aide Robert Greenlee about taking the Senate seat himself, and going to Afghanistan to track down Osama Bin Laden.

11:27 a.m.: "Don't say it, promise it, connect it to Senate seat or anything in 5th District," Blagojevich ordered staff during 501c4 talks with Emanuel.

11:08 a.m.: Blagojevich's order of criteria for deciding the Senate seat: 1. Legal 2. Personal 3. Politicial.

10:29 a.m.: Blagojevich testifies why Valerie Jarret wasn't a good choice for Senator: "[She] doesn't give me a chance to do more good [for Illinois]."

10:24 a.m.: "Any decision I would ultimately make on the Senate seat had to be legal, obviously," Blagojevich says, despite warnings Wednesday from Judge Zagel he couldn't talk about the legality of his actions.

9:52 a.m.: Says he picked up on signals from Obama advisers that they didn't want Jesse Jackson Jr. appointed to the seat.

9:49 a.m.: Blagojevich on Senate seat conversations: "Wasted a bunch of time talking about something [that was] going nowhere."

9:40 a.m.: Reporter Susan Berger notes that Blagojevich looks better today than Wednesday, when he became flustered after Judge Zagel censored some of the testimony.

9:35 a.m.: Happy 1st Anniversary. It was one year ago today that the first corruption trial for Rod Blagojevich began.

What to Expect Today:

Rod Blagojevich returns to the witness stand Thursday morning, with a warning from Judge James Zagel still ringing in his ears.

“I’m putting the jury in the box at 9:30,” Zagel warned the defense team. “Don’t be late!”

The judge had accused Blagojevich’s lawyers of stalling, repeatedly asking virtually the same question and getting the same answer. And he threatened to interrupt the defense if things didn’t speed up soon.

“I’m inclined to give the government a chance to start its cross examination,” Zagel warned. [Read the full recap of Blago's fourth day on the stand.]

Previous Journals:

Wednesday, June 1, 2011 -- Blago on the Stand Day 4

Tuesday, May 31, 2011 -- Blago on the Stand Day 3

Thursday, May 26-Friday, May 27 -- Rod Takes the Stand, Days 1 and 2