 Attorneys for both Blagojevich and his older brother and former
fundraiser, Robert, raised questions to jurors on both Monk's
testimony and integrity.Monk, a former friend and confidant of
Blagojevich, is serving as a witness for federal prosecutors as part
of a plea bargain to get a reduced sentence on a bribery charge.
Prosecutors used Monk and recordings covertly obtained by federal
authorities to try to establish that Blagojevich abused his position
as governor for personal gain.
On Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Niewoehner concluded his
three-day direct examination of Monk with questions concerning John
Johnston, part-owner of racetracks Balmoral Park and Maywood Park.
Monk testified that in late 2008, Blagojevich was trying to
leverage a $100,000 campaign contribution from Johnston in exchange
for his signature on legislation that would bring in millions of
dollars for racetracks.
Monk, who was at this point serving as a lobbyist for Johnston
and other racetracks, said timing was key on the contribution. Monk
was concerned suspicions would be aroused if a contribution was made
by a racetrack owner to Blagojevich just before Blagojevich signed
into law a bill that benefited racetracks owners.
"You can't do state action or do something related to state
action specifically for a state contribution," Monk said on the
stand Monday.
But Monk also had to consider that Blagojevich wanted the
$100,000 contribution before the end of the 2008 reporting period
for campaign funds. According to Monk, Blagojevich's opponents could
be discouraged by a strong show of fundraising during the last half
of 2008.
Lawmakers passed the gaming legislation in late November 2008.
The former governor was arrested in his Chicago home on Dec. 9,
2008. Upon being released on bail, Blagojevich signed the gaming
legislation into law on Dec. 15.
On cross-examination, lawyers for both defendants dismissed that
any actual "pay-to-play" exchange had taken place and called into
question Monk's character.
Michael Ettinger, lawyer for Robert Blagojevich, Rod's brother,
said the initiative to obtain a $100,000 contribution from Johnston
began before both legislative chambers had even passed the gaming
proposal.
Ettinger also implied that Monk lied and deceived for his own
benefit. Monk had earlier testified that he had been "embellishing,
exaggerating, lying" about some of his fundraising aggressiveness in
order to alleviate pressure from Blagojevich.
Monk also said he lied about his whereabouts in December 2008,
when he embarked on a golfing vacation to the Dominican Republic to
distance himself from Blagojevich and his fundraising exploits.
After Ettinger's one-hour questioning, Sam Adam Jr., lawyer for
Rod Blagojevich, took his shots at the prosecution's witness.
[to top of second column] |
One of the more humorous interchanges of the trial occurred when
Adam questioned Monk on whether or not he and Blagojevich had done
anything illegal during their time at Pepperdine Law School.
After some consideration, Monk replied, "Other than some
occasional drug use," to laughter from spectators.
"I'm not here to ask you about that," Adam said with a smirk.
Adam rejected the notion that Blagojevich was holding out for a
campaign donation in exchange for his signature.
Like Ettinger, Adam indicated that according to documents
provided by prosecutors, Blagojevich's fundraising group was seeking
$100,000 from Johnston in September 2008, well before lawmakers had
considered the gaming proposal that would benefit racetracks.
Adam also pointed out to jurors that Monk could not explicitly
say for certain whether or not Blagojevich was seeking to implement
a contribution-for-state-action exchange.
"Did you ever hear ‘You give me 100 grand, I'll sign the bill?'"
Adam asked Monk, to which Monk said no.
Monk earlier testified that he was earning about $150,000 per
year as a lobbyist for the racetracks, a statistic that Adam
confirmed with Monk during cross-examination.
Adam also lambasted Monk for his own role in the quartet of
Blagojevich, Monk and fundraisers Anthony "Tony" Rezko and Chris
Kelly that allegedly conspired to embezzle funds from the state for
personal gain.
"You were in a criminal conspiracy," Adam said. "You had no
problem conspiring to steal from the state of Illinois."
Adam indicated to U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel at the end
of testimony Monday that he plans on questioning Monk for much of
Tuesday.
Federal prosecutors announced to Zagel that they plan to announce
at least three more witnesses: David Abel, former Illinois debt
manager under Blagojevich; Vinnie Mazzaro; and Joseph Aramanda.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By KEVIN LEE]
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