Prosecutors asked a federal judge Wednesday to order a former counsel general in the Illinois governor’s office to produce documents and testify at ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s upcoming racketeering and fraud trial.
Prosecutors asked a federal judge Wednesday to order a former counsel general in the Illinois governor’s office to produce documents and testify at ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s upcoming racketeering and fraud trial. Prosecutors said in court papers that Blagojevich has indicated he does not plan to try to prevent testimony from former general counsel William J. Quinlan by asserting attorney-client privilege, but has refused to provide Quinlan with an express waiver of that privilege. Quinlan’s attorney Jon King said the former counsel general is ready to cooperate with the government, but not until he gets a specific waiver of attorney-client privilege — the principle under which lawyers must not divulge secrets that they hear from their clients. "Blagojevich’s counsel has told me repeatedly that there’s an applicable attorney-client issue here," King said. He said Quinlan has no intention of hiding anything from the government but merely wants to make sure that he is in accord with fundamental legal ethics. The former governor is charged with scheming to sell or trade President Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat and using the powers of the governor to pressure potential campaign contributors. He has denied any wrongdoing. The trial is scheduled to get under way June 3. In papers filed with Judge James B. Zagel, who is to preside over the Blagojevich trial, prosecutors also said Quinlan’s concern in not complying with two subpoenas was to avoid any violation of the attorney-client privilege principle. Quinlan was an attorney for the state from May 2005 through December 2008 and at times held the position of general counsel to the governor. Prosecutors said Blagojevich attorneys sent a letter to King in February saying that "in the interest of openness and fairness we have no objection to Mr. Quinlan speaking to the United States attorney’s office." But they said Blagojevich attorneys have not provided a specific waiver. Prosecutors also said that in the letter, defense attorneys included various suggestions, such as that Quinlan decline to be interviewed until after reviewing FBI wiretap tapes of conversations in which he was a participant and that they be on hand for any such interview. Blagojevich attorney Sheldon Sorosky said "this issue has been swirling around for a year" and said, "as far as we’re concerned there was an attorney-client relationship." Sorosky noted that prosecutors have long maintained that there is a difference between a general counsel who advises the governor on government matters and a personal attorney. "Quinlan has always said, I can’t (testify) because I was Rod Blagojevich’s lawyer, and we have said, yes, he was his lawyer, and the government has said, you weren’t his real lawyer," Sorosky said. He said that whether Quinlan ends up testifying or not "is up to Quinlan." The issue of attorney-client privilege involving a counsel general also came up in 2002 in the federal investigation that led to the racketeering and fraud trial of former Illinois Gov. George Ryan. The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Ryan and his attorneys when they sought to prevent grand jury testimony from former general counsel Roger Bickel. Bickel was not called as a witness at Ryan’s trial, but in its filing Wednesday the government cited the appeals decision that cleared the way for his grand jury testimony. Ryan was ultimately convicted of racketeering, fraud and other offenses and is currently serving a 6 1/2-year sentence in federal prison. Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
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