The Chicago News Cooperative has a good piece on why it’s so stupid and reckless for Blagojevich to take the stand:
“I am fascinated by the train wreck that is this trial,” said Lisa Noller, a former federal prosecutor in Chicago who now does criminal defense work. “He has been on the circuit so long he doesn’t realize the inconsistent statements he’s made. He doesn’t realize the admissions he’s made.”
But the prosecutors know them very well, Noller said, adding that they’ve studied his every public utterance, whether from the lobby of the federal courthouse, the pages of his book, speeches to college students or his television and newspaper interviews.
“If there’s an inconsistency to be found, they’ll know what it is,” she said. “It wouldn’t surprise me that in his heart of hearts, he doesn’t believe he’s done anything wrong. It’s textbook narcissistic behavior. He winks and nods at the jurors. He says, ‘Hi, I used to be your governor.’ I think he believes he’s got a shot.”
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“He’s the Charlie Sheen of criminal defendants,” said Patrick Cotter, a former federal prosecutor turned defense lawyer. “He goes out and does what he does. Half the world is amused and half the world is appalled.”
What Blagojevich is betting on, Cotter said, is that just one person on the jury will be amused or impressed. No matter how solid the prosecution’s case is, if Blagojevich’s nice-guy polished narrative resonates emotionally with just one juror, the evidence may not matter.
“He’s a politician and he was a good politician. You have to respect that,” Cotter said. “Is it a high risk? The fact is, when you decide what is high risk and what is not, you have to ask yourself ‘compared to what’?
“To flap your arms and think you’re going to fly is ridiculous. But if you’re falling out of a window anyway, you might as well flap.”
Flap away.