As animated as ever, Adam has turned his questioning to Rod's alleged attempt to appoint Emil Jones, then-president of the state senate, to Barack Obama's vacant U.S. senate seat in exchange for Jones not calling a state ethics bill for a vote.
Adam noted that the alleged deal was discussed in September 2008, before Obama won the presidential election.
"President Obama hadn't won yet. He couldn't make a deal to do something until he had the ability to do it, could he?" Adam asked.
Adam then turned to allegations that Blagojevich tried to shake down contractors for $500,000 in contributions in exchange for announcing a highway construction project.
He noted that Monk told Blagojevich that he wasn't going to get the $500,000 he hoped for -- and the governor announced the $1.8 billion version of the plan anyway.
"Did Rod tell you, 'Eff" them, he won't get the $5 billion?'" Adam asked.
"No," Monk said.
"Did Rod tell you, 'Eff them, they won't get the $1.8 billion?'" Adam asked.
"He had already made the announcement," Monk said.
Zagel has called a 15-minute break. Before he did, he called Adam over for a conference. The judge urged Adam to avoid starting his questions with "you said" -- a wording that "generally speaking, doesn't get you anywhere."
It's a phrasing that Adam has taken a particular liking to, it seems.
"I say this because it probably could reduce the length of the cross-examination by 10 percent," Zagel told the attorney.
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