Reporting with Natasha Korecki
As he debated with advisers over who to appoint to President-elect Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat, Rod Blagojevich testified Thursday that he spoke with Obama's adviser Rahm Emanuel about his ideas.
On one day in early November, Blagojevich said he talked to Emaunel three times.
"Did you discuss the Senate seat?" asks lawyer Aaron Goldstein.
"Yes," Blagojevich answers. He says he brought up the idea of appointing Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to the seat, and he thought Emanuel approved of that idea.
"He said something like, 'So, you're really playing with the idea of Lisa Madigan?' And I said, 'Yes.' I think I said something along the lines of ... 'How much do I love the people of Illinois, could I hold my nose and do it?'"
Emanuel's response?
"He was not against the idea," Blagojevich testified. "I interpreted him to think he thought it was an alright idea. I also interpreted him to mean he was surprised that I would even consider her. I took it that he was pleasantly surprised that I would consider her."
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