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Blagojevich guilty on one count, mistrial on 23 others

CHICAGO ? A federal jury found former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich guilty on Tuesday of one count of lying to federal agents, and the judge said he intended to declare a mistrial on the more serious remaining 23 counts.

Prosecutors immediately vowed to retry the case against Blagojevich and his co-defendant brother as soon as possible. The charges had included the accusation that they had tried to sell or trade President Barack Obama's old Senate seat and that the governor had tried to use the power of his office for personal gain.

Rod Blagojevich ? known for his showmanlike, over-the-top personality ? showed no emotion as the verdict was read. Before jurors came in he sat with his hands folded, looking down, picking at his fingernails. He and his lawyer said they would appeal the conviction.

"This jury shows you that the government threw everything but the kitchen sink at me," Blagojevich said later outside court. "They could not prove I did anything wrong ? except for one nebulous charge from five years ago."

The jury's conclusion, on their 14th day of deliberations, ended an 11-week trial during which a foul-mouthed Blagojevich was heard on secretly made FBI wiretap tapes saying the power to name a senator was "(expletive) golden" and that he wasn't going to give up "for (expletive) nothing."

The count on which Blagojevich was convicted, one of the less serious counts against Blagojevich, included accusations that he lied to federal agents when he said he did not track campaign contributions and kept a "firewall" between political campaigns and government work. It carries a sentence of up to five years in prison. Some of the more serious charges, such as racketeering, carried up to a 20-year penalty.

Judge James B. Zagel set a hearing for Aug. 26 to decide manner and timing of the retrial.

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