Reporting with Natasha Korecki and Dave McKinney
Robert Blagojevich lied to jurors repeatedly on the witness stand, Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Niewoehner tells the jury.
Niewoehner focuses on the ex-governor's brother for several minutes, poking holes in what was seen as a successful testimony for the defense -- so successful that the Blago brothers' defense team chose to make him their last witness.
"Robert Blagojevich got on the witness stand and he lied to you," the prosecutor says.
He says Robert lied about not mixing government and fund-raising as well as his brother's intention to personally benefit from an appointment to the U.S. Senate.
"This is the guy who talked about shutting down the criminal investigation in exchange for the Senate seat," Niewoehner says, recalling tapes the jurors heard. "This is the guy who talks about 'tit for tat' and horse-trading."
Niewoehner says that Robert got through his cross-examination by "dancing" and "dodging."
"You couldn't get a straight English sentence out of his mouth when he was talking about that because he knew if he did admit it... he was done," the prosecutor says.
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