CHICAGO - CORRUPTION-TAINTED Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich fought back on Wednesday against charges he tried to auction off president-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat for personal gain.
Blagojevich vowed to soon end his silence over allegations of pay-to-play politics and dispatched a prominent defence attorney to challenge an impeachment inquiry launched by legislators.
'I can't wait to begin to tell my side of the story,' Blagojevich told reporters as he left his house to go jogging.
'There's a time and place for everything. That day will soon be here and you might know more about that today, maybe no later than tomorrow.'
Blagojevich has so far refused mounting calls to resign in the scandal, which erupted after he was arrested on December 9 in what prosecutors called a 'political corruption crime spree'.
He managed to dodge an attempt by the attorney general to have him temporarily removed from office or stripped of the bulk of his powers Wednesday when the state's supreme court rejected a motion to have Blagojevich declared unfit to govern.
His lawyer refused to tell legislators whether Blagojevich will testify before a state house inquiry into whether there are sufficient grounds for impeachment and accused panel members of being incapable of giving the governor a fair hearing.
Mr Ed Genson dismissed wiretapped conversations in which Blagojevich discussed ways to profit from his ability to fill Mr Obama's seat as a bunch of 'jabbering' that did not go anywhere.
'The evidence you have is nil, zero nothing,' Mr Genson told the panel, questioning the validity of the wiretap transcripts and calling the 76-page FBI affidavit hearsay.
'I'm asking you to consider the evidence as you're getting it and to the best of your ability give Governor Rod Blagojevich a fair shake here.'
A battle was also brewing over whether a special election should be called to fill the seat Mr Obama won in 2004 and relinquished after winning the November 4 presidential election.
The scandal continues to be an unwelcome distraction for Mr Obama as he prepares to take office on January 20.
While Mr Obama's incoming administration has not been accused of any wrongdoing, the president-elect's team has faced questions over its relationship and contacts with the Democratic governor.
Mr Obama's incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel has come under fire amid reports that FBI wiretaps recorded him discussing who should replace Mr Obama in the US senate with Blagojevich's administration in 21 different conversations.
Mr Emanuel reportedly initially pushed for Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett to be appointed to the seat and then submitted a list of other names after Ms Jarrett was tapped for a senior advisor position in the Obama administration.
Senior Obama advisor David Axelrod worked to dispel some of the speculation and defend Emanuel as a man with 'enormous integrity and unparalleled skill'.
'There isn't a person involved in Chicago politics who would tell you that Barack Obama and Rod Blagojevich had any kind of close relationship,' Mr Axelrod told MSNBC television, noting the two men did not endorse each other in previous campaigns.
'They never did. They weren't from the same political factions in Illinois politics, and they weren't close.' But the revelations have undermined Mr Obama's pledge that he would not get involved in the selection process for his replacement.
Mr Obama, who has defended his staff saying he is certain they were not involved in any inappropriate behaviour, has also said he is delaying the release of an internal review into the affair at the request of prosecutors.
He admitted on Wednesday that the delay was 'a little bit frustrating.' 'There's been a lot of speculation in the press that I would love to correct immediately,' Mr Obama told a press conference announcing his cabinet picks for the agriculture and interior departments.
'We are abiding by the request of the US attorney's office. But it's not going to be that long. By next week you guys will have the answers to all your questions.' -- AFP
