By Abdon M. Pallasch and Natasha Korecki

Asking President Obama or his allies to have rich people create a non-profit to hire Blagojevich at comfortable salary in exchange for a senate appointment is not the same as horse-trading votes, Zagel said.

"That's money in his pocket, not just changing his vote in exchange for political support," Zagel said.

"That's not entirely true," Blagojevich's attorney said.

"My ruling is: Opinions about the legality of something are out," Zagel said, also admonishing Blagojevich's lawyers: "I don't what to see that by implication ...He's perfectly free to say 'I thought it was OK to do this cause I didn't think it was one for the other.'"

When Blagojevich was on the stand, he was saying that because all that historical precedent was on his mind and his advisors including his lawyer were not telling him it was illegal, that Blagjevich did not think it was illegal to trade a senate appointment for a job for himself.

"My desire was to comply with the law," Blagojevich said. "I was particularly careful, I thought, [I had] a full desire [that] whatever idea was brought to me, was discussed by all my senior advisors and Mr. Quinlan was among them. No one ever said, 'You can't do that -- it was illegal.' I was determined to make sure I followed the law when I made my ultimate decision."