Blago Guilty on 1 Count: Lying to FBI

Jury can't decide on 23 others; feds will retry him
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 17, 2010 4:46 PM CDT
Blago Guilty on 1 Count: Lying to Agents
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his wife Patti arrive at the Federal Court building, Tuesday, Aug. 17.   (Kiichiro Sato)

A federal jury has found ex-Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich guilty of one count of lying to federal agents. The jury could not reach a decision on the other 23 counts after two weeks of deliberations, and the judge said he intends to declare a mistrial on them. Federal prosecutors say they plan to retry the case "as quickly as possible." The judge set a hearing for Aug. 26 to decide manner and timing of their retrial.

The count on which Blagojevich was found guilty included accusations that he lied to federal agents when he said he did not track campaign contributions and kept a "firewall" between political campaigns and government work. It carries a sentence of up to 5 years in prison. (More Blagojevich trial stories.)

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