The Chicago Tribune:
While he appeared relieved by the verdict during a news conference Monday, Fitzgerald refused to characterize the case's outcome as a victory for himself.
"The vindication is to the people of Illinois," Fitzgerald. "It's right that the citizens' interests are vindicated. That's not a personal joy. It's bittersweet, but we needed them to see that."
Fitzgerald is the longest-serving U.S. attorney in Chicago history, with nearly 10 years in office, and it's the second conviction of a former governor on his watch, following the corruption case against George Ryan.
Patrick Fitzgerald is the prosecutor who won convictions of Scooter Libby on charges of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to federal investigators.
President Bush commuted Libby's sentence, but refused to pardon Libby despite considerable pressure from Libby's friend, Dick Cheney. President Bush knew damn well that Libby was guilty of real crimes. But, at the time, the blogosphere-supported, conservative denialist machine was in overdrive, claiming that the charges against Libby were nothing but the vindictive act of a politically motivated prosecutor. Fitzgerald had to be a puppet of the Democratic Party establishment.
In reality, it was conservative bloggers who were vindictive and politically motivated, which is why they slandered an honest man who was doing his job.
There is no question that Fitzgerald has always been a zealous--some say ruthless--federal prosecutor. But he has never shown even the slightest evidence of partisan motivation in his prosecutions. He was appointed on the recommendation of former Republican Senator Peter Fitzgerald (no relation), a staunch conservative. He has prosecuted Republicans, Democrats and countless nobodies who ran afoul of federal law.
Simply by virtue of the fact that he's the prosecutor in the Northern Illinois District, I imagine that Pat Fitzgerald has actually prosecuted more Democrats than Republicans. He even prosecuted Obama's old patron and neighbor, Tony Rezko. And now, in a case that represents one of his most significant prosecutions, he won convictions of the impeached Illinois Democratic governor on 17 out of 20 felony charges.
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