• 16 number of charges Rod Blagojevich was indicted for last April
• 24 number of charges Blago faces in an expanded inquiry

• Why the change? Blago’s former charges had a lot to do with what’s referred to as “honest services fraud,” a statute that allows lawyers to nail corrupt politicians who get a few too many perks for white collar crimes. This law, passed by Congress in the ’80s and responsible for nailing Conrad Black, Jack Abramoff and fellow former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, is likely to get struck down by the Supreme Court in a few months, so they needed something else to nail him on. The eight new charges don’t rely on the law. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • Permalink