By Michael Tarm, AP Legal Affairs Writer
CHICAGO (AP) — Imprisoned ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has again asked the U.S. Supreme Court to toss his convictions on corruption charges, saying he never crossed lines into illegal fundraising.
The request posted Friday by the high court comes after numerous failed bids by the Democrat to get multiple guilty verdicts overturned, including one for trying to trade an appointment to Barack Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat for campaign cash.
The 60-year-old married father is serving a 14-year prison term. The Supreme Court refused in 2016 to take up a Blagojevich appeal.
The new filing says the court should hear Blagojevich’s case to resolve legal conflicts over what constitutes as bribery. The filing argues that Blagojevich would have had to explicitly promise to trade some official action for a contribution for it to be illegal.
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