Democratic fundraiser Joe Cari was back on the stand today, for Rod Blagojevich’s corruption trial.  Prosecutors laid out meetings Cari had with Blagojevich fundraiser Tony Rezko, and others, about a plan to offer state jobs/contracts to people, who would then be asked to donate campaign money.  Cari said he understood it as “If you got state work, you would have to make political contributions, and that if you made political contributions, you would get state work”.   A “quid pro quo” Cari called it.

Two phone calls between Joe Cari and political connector Stuart Levine, were played in court, both of them involved discussion of a plan to get a large investment from a state pension board to a private equity firm.  Cari claimed Levine more than implied that the deal wouldn’t happen unless a lucrative consulting contract was hired by the equity firm, and that Levine told him he wanted to complete the deal because “…this is the kind of thing that can get people upset with the political powers that be”.  Cari said he understood “the political powers that be” to mean Chris Kelly, Tony Rezko and Governor Rod Blagojevich—But, during defense cross examination, transcripts from an earlier trial (Tony Rezko’s) involving those same conversations were shown, in which Cari said the “political powers that be” included just Kelly and Rezko, not Blagojevich.  The defense also repeatedly pointed out that Cari had lied to federal agents, but then struck a deal with them, for his testimony.

The 12 members and 6 alternates on the jury, sat through the proceedings today with black binders that include transcripts of phone calls submitted for evidence and other information.  Many were listening and taking notes in their binders while the phone calls were played.

This morning, in a nod to the prosecution’s attempt to gag him yesterday, Rod Blagojevich turned toward the cameras in the federal courthouse, and made a swiping motion, as if zipping his mouth.  One reporter yelled “Anything to say governor?”  ”I’m sure afterwards” Blago replied.  Just minutes earlier, his smiling and seemingly jubilent attorneys, Sam Adam and Sam Adam Junior, sauntered by, yelling to the media “good morning”, “morning everybody!”.