This Man Knows Where The Bodies Are

After keeping mostly out of the public eye since it was announced he is facing federal corruption charges, embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is reversing course.

He's recently held a series of interviews and made statements portraying himself as the victim of vengeful lawmakers who can't wait to toss him out of office.

"The heart and soul of this has been a struggle of me against the system," Blagojevich said at a news conference Friday.

He denied any wrongdoing but wouldn't discuss the federal corruption charges filed against him last month. Instead, he focused on his efforts to expand government health care programs without raising taxes.

He has chosen not to mount any defense in the Senate impeachment trial that begins Monday and could remove him from office within days.

The governor, a fan of Western movies, drew a long analogy between his situation and that of a cowboy accused of stealing a horse. His story ended with one cowboy suggesting that the accused thief be hanged, but the other suggesting he first be tried, then hanged.

"Under these rules, I'm not even getting a fair trial; they're just hanging me. And when they hang me under these rules that prevent due process, they're hanging the 12 million people of Illinois who twice have elected a governor," he said.

On Thursday, the governor turned to the history books to describe the emotional strain on him and his family, comparing his arrest last month to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.

"Dec. 9 to my family, to us, to me, is what Pearl Harbor Day was to the United States," he told The Associated Press. "It was a complete surprise, completely unexpected. And just like the United States prevailed in that, we'll prevail in this."

The two-term Democrat said there was no chance he would resign before his impeachment trial.

"I'm going to fight this to the very end," he said.

Also Friday, Blagojevich's lead attorney, Ed Genson, says he plans to resign from the Illinois governor's criminal case.

Genson is one of Chicago's best-known lawyers and has represented such clients as rock star R. Kelly and Canadian-born press lord Conrad Black.