A Just Cause Read Free

investigative committee and was prepared only to respond to the criminal complaint that had led to the governor’s arrest. 4 He was assisted by Chicago attorney Sam Adam Jr.
    Currie reiterated her remarks of the day before that the committee “was not a court of law” and “not quite a grand jury.” She reminded everyone that the committee was not subject to the rules of evidence or any procedures that might apply in a court of law. She then introduced David Ellis to present the rules that the committee would follow during its investigation (48). 5
    Ellis and his staff had been working on the committee rules for the past week. The Republicans were not consulted or given an opportunity to provide suggestions and had received the rules from the Democratic staff the evening before. 6 It was clear that the rules gave the Speaker fullcontrol over the hearings, and Republican members were not pleased. Jim Durkin’s response to the committee rules was predictable but measured. He and Matt O’Shea had gone over the rules with Currie the night before, and he was particularly concerned that subpoena power was granted only to Currie and the Speaker. Rules governing the 1997 impeachment investigation of James D. Heiple established a committee co-chaired by a Democrat and a Republican. The members of the 1997 committee were evenly divided between the two parties, and subpoena authority was jointly shared. Heiple was a Republican, and in 1997 the Illinois house had been controlled by the Democrats. Giving the Republicans equal control of the Heiple investigation helped the majority Democrats erase notions that he was being investigated for political reasons. Now the house was once again controlled by the Democrats, but Blagojevich also was a Democrat. Blagojevich’s governing antics had been widely reported, and granting the Republicans equal control of the investigation could result in the investigation probing into areas that might be politically embarrassing for the majority party. The Speaker needed to ensure that he would maintain control of the proceedings, so the minority party was relegated to the back bench.
    Ellis quickly outlined the twenty committee rules. The rules established that any committee action would require eleven votes. The majority Democrats had twelve members on the committee. The rules provided that the committee chairperson would “attempt” to provide twenty-four hours’ notice of any meetings and, most important, that any requests for subpoenas would have to be delivered to the chairperson. Currie would then turn the subpoena requests over to the Speaker, and he would make the decision to issue subpoenas in the name of the committee. Madigan later recalled saying to Republican leader Cross, “He’s our guy, and we’ll take care of it.” 7 The governor or his counsel would be limited to asking only “clarifying questions” of witnesses; they could not cross-examine them. Blagojevich or his counsel could call witnesses subject to “reasonableness” and the consent of the chairperson. Currie also maintained authority to determine admissibility of any evidence. 8
    While maintaining tight control over the committee may have been motivated partly by partisan politics, it was also prompted by a concern that Blagojevich might turn the hearings into a public relations circus. Initially, in conjunction with his arrest and the complaint of attempting to sell the senate seat vacated by Barack Obama, the governor asked that newly designated White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and the president-electbe called as witnesses. As the hearings progressed, Blagojevich demanded that other national political figures be called, including US senators Harry Reid, Richard Durbin, and Edward Kennedy.
    Ed Genson asked to make a comment on the rules, and Currie recognized him, but not before informing Genson that his “interest” had nothing to do with