Blagojevich: I thought about Oprah for Senate
(CNN) — Impeachment proceedings against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich are scheduled to begin Monday in the state Senate, but the embattled governor is expected to skip the trial and instead appear on several television programs.
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s impeachment trial is scheduled to start Monday in the state Senate.
Blagojevich is facing federal corruption allegations, including trying to trade or sell the Senate seat that became vacant after Barack Obama was elected president.
The second-term Democratic governor has denied wrongdoing.
In his first live prime-time interview, Blagojevich will appear Monday on CNN’s "Larry King Live."
He spoke with ABC’s "Good Morning America" on Monday morning and was scheduled to appear with his wife later Monday on ABC’s "The View."
On "Good Morning America," Blagojevich said he considered appointing Oprah Winfrey as Obama’s Senate replacement.
"She seemed to be someone who had helped Barack Obama in a significant way become president," he said. "She was obviously someone with a much broader bully pulpit than other senators."
Watch Blagojevich say he’s done ‘nothing wrong’ »
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The governor said Winfrey was one of several candidates he had considered for the position.
Blagojevich eventually picked former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to replace Obama. Senate Democrats initially disputed seating Burris due to the cloud over Blagojevich, and Illinois’ secretary of state refused to sign off on the appointment.
But Illinois’ highest court validated Burris’ appointment earlier this month, and Senate Democratic leaders recognized it.
Blagojevich on Monday restated his complaints about what he called the "unconstitutional" impeachment trial, which he said "denies me the right to call witnesses to defend myself and prove my innocence."
He said he is certain the Illinois Senate will vote to remove him from office and said he expects they will demand he step down "relatively soon."
Earlier this month, the Illinois House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to impeach him. Blagojevich has said the vote was politically motivated.
According to a federal complaint issued in December, Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris — who also was arrested on federal corruption charges — were "conspiring to obtain personal financial benefits" for the governor by leveraging his sole authority to appoint a U.S. senator to replace Obama.
"I’ve got this thing and it’s [expletive] golden," Blagojevich allegedly said in one recorded phone conversation, referring to his authority to appoint, according to the complaint. "I’m just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing."
When asked about those alleged quotes, Blagojevich told ABC that
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