Fiscal and ethical concerns linger after “round-one” of Blago’s trial, spelling trouble for Democrats.

By Micah Hanks

Rod Blagojevich, facing charges for the alleged sell-out of a vacant Senate seat after Obama’s election win less than two years ago, entered the ensuing trial facing trouble, but carrying a confident air. From the beginning, the former Illinois governor had been adamant about his innocence, and self-assured that he would ultimately prevail when confronted by the media. In the end, it seemed unlikely that the former Illinois governor would get off easy, and as of Tuesday’s verdict, Blagojevich may now face jail time for lying to the FBI; only one count of 24 leveled against him for which he was found guilty.

The penalty for Blago’s crime may have him singing to the tune of a five-year prison term, but he seems hardly deterred, refuting the allegations. “I did not lie to the FBI,” he said yesterday, “I told the truth from the very beginning. We have a prosecutor who has wasted and wanted to spend tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer money to take me away from my family and my home.”

Sadly, he’s right. In the aftermath, the prosecution, led by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, said a retrial would be sought immediately. The problem this presents, however, is that the present trial has already placed a burden of millions of dollars on Illinois taxpayers, and to pursue a retrial would only raise the financial bar even higher. Sam Adam Jr. of the two-man father-son defense team said in a statement reported by Fox News, “I wish this entire group would go upstairs and ask Mr. Fitzgerald one question. Why are we spending $25 to $30 million on a retrial when you couldn’t prove it the first time?” At present, it is unclear whether, in the event of a retrial, the Adam family will even return, or whether Balgojevich, whose own funds have expired, would seek public funding in some capacity.

But the fiscal concerns of a second trial aren’t the only problem visible as the dust settles. In fact, on a much broader scale, a general fallout among Democratic voters may be expected, as well as attacks from Republicans who would seek to use Blago’s morality as fodder along with the ethics violations pending against Congressmen Charles Rangel and Maxine Waters. Dick Simpson, a professor of politics at the University of Illinois, told Reuters today that, “The ongoing retrial will be used by Republicans everywhere to show that Democrats are corrupt,” calling it an “issue in elections from Alaska to Arkansas.”

To say that opinions are still wide and varied on the present outcome would be an understatement, and based on the 23 remaining counts for which Blago was found innocent, perhaps the greatest disparity of opinion was present among the jury itself. The individuals serving as jurors, who were referred to as “very strong personalities” and “independent thinkers” by foreman James Matsumoto, have criticized one another about their differing opinions, and what was described as the lack of a “smoking gun.” After pouring over hours of audio tapes which, more than anything else, portray Blagojevich as foul-mouthed and vulgar, one juror, Stephen Wlodek, expressed his disappointment at having “something of this magnitude and this much effort end like this.”

At the outset of any high-profile criminal trial, it is expected that the opinions of the public–much like the jury by the end of this one–will be differ broadly. However, once the court issues its decision and the hope for a resolution has been reached, if things remain generally unclear, the inevitably of public opinion worsening can be evidenced here by the uncertainty and downright anger that still remains centered around Rod Blagojevich. Whether or not a retrial does occur, one thing remains clear: we’ve yet to see the real end result of this drawn-out and convoluted scenario. One thing we can count on, however, is that the greatest controversies have yet to arise. By then, should they fall against Blago’s favor, it is arguable that neither he nor the State of Illinois will likely be able to foot the bill.