A prosecution witness says then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich angrily dismissed the idea of appointing Illinois Democrat Alexi Giannoulias to Barack Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat.
CHICAGO (AP) — A prosecution witness says then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich angrily dismissed the idea of appointing Illinois Democrat Alexi Giannoulias to Barack Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat.
Union official Tom Balanoff testified at Blagojevich’s corruption trial that he mentioned Giannoulias’ name after the 2008 presidential election.
Balanoff says Blagojevich cursed repeatedly and said he wouldn’t do anything for Giannoulias because Giannoulias took shots at the governor every chance he got.
Giannoulias is currently in a contentious race for Obama’s old seat with Republican Congressman Mark Kirk.
Blagojevich has pleaded not guilty to charges of scheming to sell or trade his power to fill Obama’s seat and pressuring people for campaign donations.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
(AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)
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