Reporting with Natasha Korecki
Contorting his arms oddly, prosecutor Reid Schar is telling jurors Rod Blagojevich's explanations on the Senate seat tie him up in knots.
"I keep getting stuck in a pretzel," Schar says, as Blagojevich rests his chin on his hand.
He's addressing Blagojevich's contention that he was using Jesse Jackson Jr. as a fake ploy to scare pols in Washington, D.C. into helping him broker a deal to pass legislation in exchange for appointing Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to the Senate seat.
"Of course you can ask for campaign contributions in the United States," Schar said, referring to defense lawyer Aaron Goldstein's closing argument stating such requests are legal. What you can't do, he adds, if ask for them in exchange for official actions; that's bribery and extortion.
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