Blagojevich Denies Any Criminal Wrongdoing

Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois, who has been accused of scheming to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat, said on Friday that he would not resign and insisted that he had done nothing wrong, saying defiantly, I will fight, I will fight, I will fight. In his first statement since he was arrested on federal charges of conspiracy and soliciting bribes, Mr. Blagojevich was alternately emotional and combative, his voice breaking as he told reporters that he would be vindicated, and asked Illinois residents to withhold their judgment. I intend to stay on the job and I will fight this thing every step of the way, he said in an appearance at the James R. Thompson Center in downtown Chicago. I will fight, I will fight, I will fight, till I take my very last breath. I have done nothing wrong. Within minutes of his appearance, state Republicans reiterated their calls for a special election to determine Mr. Obama’s replacement in the Senate, and the state’s lieutenant governor, Pat Quinn, issued a statement chastising Mr. Blagojevich.

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Blagojevich: I am not guilty