CHICAGO - THE embattled US governor accused of trying to auction off the Senate seat vacated by president-elect Barack Obama came out swinging on Friday, defending himself against wide-ranging corruption charges.

'I am here to tell you right off of the bat that I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing, that I intend to stay on the job and I will fight this thing every step of the way,' said Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

'I will fight. I will fight. I will fight until I take my last breath. I have done nothing wrong,' the governor said in his first official appearance over federal corruption charges filed on Dec 9.

Blagojevich, 51, was arrested on Dec 9 on federal charges that he tried to sell the president elect's Senate seat to the highest bidder.

Mr Obama, the former US senator from Illinois, resigned the seat after winning the Nov 4 general election. His replacement would normally be appointed by the governor.

Blagojevich, who has faced mounting calls to step down, said he was not going to quit 'because of false accusations and a political lynch mob'. The defiant three-minute statement suggested Blagojevich was digging in his heels against the allegations of pay-to-play politics and a resulting impeachment inquiry launched by legislators.

The governor also managed to dodge an attempt by the attorney general to have him temporarily removed from office or stripped of most of his powers when the state's supreme court on Wednesday rejected a motion to have Blagojevich declared unfit to govern.

'I am dying to answer the charges. I am dying to show you how innocent I am,' Blagojevich said in his three-minute statement, without taking any questions.

'I intend to answer them in the appropriate forum in a court of law. And when I do, I am absolutely certain that I will be vindicated.'

Federal prosecutors also alleged that the governor engaged in pay-to-play politics, awarding public contracts and appointments in return for campaign contributions, and even withheld funds for a children's hospital until the hospital management forked over a hefty donation to his campaign warchest.

Prosecutors said the pattern of corruption amounted to 'a political corruption crime spree' and offered evidence culled from wiretaps of the governor's home phone.

'I know there are some powerful forces arrayed against me. It's kind of lonely right now. But I have on my side the most powerful ally there is and it's the truth,' Blagojevich concluded.

Mr Obama has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the affair and has said that an internal review has absolved his staff of any inappropriate behaviour. -- AFP