WASHINGTON--Rep. Jesse Jackson (D-Ill.) testified Wednesday at the corruption retrial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and issued a statement through his attorney, Reid Weingarten--from the DC office of Steptoe & Johnson --after he stepped down from the stand. Mayor Rahm Emanuel also testified today. Both Emanuel and Jackson were called by the Blagojevich defense to bolster their claim that Blagojevich did not try to sell the Senate senate seat Barack Obama vacated after he won the 2008 election. Neither men testifed at the first Blagojevich trial last summer, where the jurors deadlocked on the selling of the Senate seat charge.

JACKSON STATEMENT: "As you can imagine, I have many strong feelings about this entire matter. My strongest feeling, however, is respect for our judicial system. Therefore, I will have no further comment about the case or how it has affected me until there is a verdict."