Rod Blagojevich Q and A — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:03clear at the last hearing that if you
2. 0:05were willing to take the witness stand
3. 0:07more of these tapes could be played have
4. 0:08you reconsidered your decision from the
5. 0:10last trial not to testify you know all
6. 0:13those things are going to play out
7. 0:14during the trial um I've every
8. 0:16expectation that uh I'm approaching this
9. 0:19one like we did the first one this one
10. 0:20we're uh you know we feel very good that
11. 0:23ultimately we're going to get the truth
12. 0:25out and whatever it takes to get the
13. 0:27truth out I'm eager to do so uh we'll
14. 0:30see how it all unfolds Larry what I
15. 0:31don't want to do is
16. 0:34uh play pundit here you'll you know I'm
17. 0:37seeking Vindication when the truth comes
18. 0:39out I'll be Vindicated people will see
19. 0:40what the whole story is and to me the
20. 0:42biggest fear is simply this can you get
21. 0:45the whole truth out and will people get
22. 0:47the full story or will those who've
23. 0:49accused me continue to block the full
24. 0:51truth from being heard and that's really
25. 0:53is as simple as I can put it is does the
26. 0:58lack of money time around the fact that
27. 1:01you exed your political campaign fund
28. 1:03has that had any effect on the
29. 1:05preparations are you going to get
30. 1:07yourself a
31. 1:08quality I I my legal team is working
32. 1:10real hard they're very committed and
33. 1:12dedicated they're uh they know the case
34. 1:15as well as uh anybody in the whole world
35. 1:18if not better um they've got tremendous
36. 1:21enthusiasm uh they're honest and
37. 1:22hardworking and capable and uh I'm
38. 1:25really excited about them and you know
39. 1:26it's not the size of the team uh as much
40. 1:29as it is is the size of the heart of the
41. 1:31of the operation and um you know I feel
42. 1:34like you know we're eager to get the
43. 1:37truth out and and I and and and that's
44. 1:39what this whole process is and you know
45. 1:41if you some of my lawyers are here today
46. 1:43they're so young they're in fact Elliott
47. 1:45and uh Elliot Reedman and and Lauren
48. 1:47casberg just graduated high school like
49. 1:49three years ago so they're very young
50. 1:51and and committed but you know young
51. 1:53people changed the world and young
52. 1:54people changed America young people
53. 1:56elected Barack Obama and my young
54. 1:58lawyers are going to be responsible for
55. 2:00me being Vindicated and getting the
56. 2:01truth out and uh I have great confidence
57. 2:04in them and and I really appreciate
58. 2:06their hard work and commitment and you
59. 2:07know they hadn't been paid for something
60. 2:09like 6 months and that they contined to
61. 2:11work through all of that as a testament
62. 2:13to their belief and their commitment and
63. 2:14uh and their enthusiasm and their
64. 2:16idealism so govern what would you do
65. 2:18when Madigan says we got to cut 200
66. 2:20million grf from schools and there's
67. 2:21going to be 400 million less from the
68. 2:23feds where where would you find that 600
69. 2:25million for schools well what they're
70. 2:27not telling you is that there's 700
71. 2:28checking accounts that have a plus
72. 2:30balance of nearly $3 billion in there
73. 2:32already you take the money from there
74. 2:33for one thing second you don't uh waste
75. 2:36taxpayer money on needless bureaucracy
76. 2:39which is what they do and they've been
77. 2:40rebuilding that bureaucracy after they
78. 2:42were able to remove me from uh from
79. 2:45office um you don't raise taxes on the
80. 2:47people like you do especially during
81. 2:48hard times which is what they've done
82. 2:50and that's just going to slow down
83. 2:51economic growth because it's going to
84. 2:52hurt businesses it's going to cost
85. 2:54people money and it's not what
86. 2:55government's supposed to be it's
87. 2:57supposed to be about helping people
88. 2:58easing their burdens lessening their
89. 3:00hardships not making it harder for them
90. 3:02so you can make it easier for the
91. 3:03politicians they've been lying to the
92. 3:05people they've broken promises to the
93. 3:06people I hate to say I was right about
94. 3:08all my predictions because it makes me
95. 3:09sick the fact that now the people of
96. 3:11Illinois have to pay the biggest tax
97. 3:13increase in Illinois history when they
98. 3:14don't have to and they shouldn't uh and
99. 3:17it's going to double Dippers and a
100. 3:19system that wastes taxpayers money and
101. 3:21serves itself not the people wish you
102. 3:23wouldn't have picked a backin as your
103. 3:24running mate giv him that step up the
104. 3:26reality is I didn't pick him he was uh
105. 3:28nominated in a primary I wish he was the
106. 3:31guy I thought he was uh I wish he was
107. 3:33the guy who said he wasn't going to
108. 3:33raise taxes like I did for 6 years I
109. 3:35wish he was the guy who actually said he
110. 3:37was on the side of the people which he's
111. 3:38not I wish he was all those things which
112. 3:40he turned out not to be and the cynical
113. 3:42nature of of what they've done with his
114. 3:44tax increase through a lame duck session
115. 3:46having lawmakers who were rejected by
116. 3:48the voters vote for a tax increase and
117. 3:49then giving them jobs to reward them for
118. 3:51raising taxes on the people is
119. 3:53disgusting and Pat Quinn engaging in
120. 3:55that sort of thing is not the Pat Quinn
121. 3:57I thought he was governor you told the
122. 3:58students that there was greed and
123. 4:00corruption in Springfield but
124. 4:01unfortunately too often it's legal is
125. 4:04that what happened in your
126. 4:06case my experience with Springfield was
127. 4:08it's an entrenched group of lawmakers
128. 4:11and legislative leaders Mike Madigan
129. 4:14principally who's been there since the
130. 4:161970s Governors come and go that he's
131. 4:18there he's built up a uh a uh an
132. 4:21entrenched system that serves his own
133. 4:23political interests and and his own law
134. 4:25practice uh the same with John ceron
135. 4:28who's the Senate President it's why
136. 4:29people will now have to pay the biggest
137. 4:31tax increase in ill right history to
138. 4:32feed that system that these guys have
139. 4:34become the architects of that they've
140. 4:36created and that they're maintaining
141. 4:39it's a corrupt status quo in that regard
142. 4:41but the sad part is they control what
143. 4:43the laws are and when they don't call
144. 4:45the bills to change those laws what
145. 4:47they're doing is is legal and that's the
146. 4:50sort of change I was bringing about and
147. 4:53and fighting to bring about uh it's in
148. 4:55many ways the story of the six years I
149. 4:57was governor trying to move it in ways
150. 4:58that you can actually give Healthcare to
151. 5:00a child preschool to a child free public
152. 5:02transportation to senior citizens and
153. 5:04protect taxpayers from higher taxes and
154. 5:06the story is far from over uh this is an
155. 5:10interlude A wilderness period And as far
156. 5:12as I'm concerned when all goes as I hope
157. 5:14and expect uh when I'm Vindicated I look
158. 5:17forward to getting back there and and
159. 5:18being even a bigger voice for the people
160. 5:19than I was before how you plan to do
161. 5:21that they they they passed the law it
162. 5:22says you can't run again what what would
163. 5:24you do what role do you think you're
164. 5:26going to have okay we got
165. 5:28responsibilities here
166. 5:30one more
167. 5:32question what a pro