Rod Blagojevich Seeks 'Vindication,' Says No to Any Plea Deal

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Friday he is "determined to seek vindication" in a second trial after a Chicago jury deadlocked on 23 of 24 corruption-related counts, including a charge that he attempted to sell an appointment to Barack Obama's Senate seat. Blagojevich said he would not accept a plea agreement from the government -- not that there is any evidence that one has been offered.

"I've done absolutely nothing wrong," Blagojevich told NBC's "Today" show. "This is a persecution by a prosecutor who for six years tried to persecute me."

As for his blunt talk in recorded phone conversations about wheeling and dealing with Obama's seat and other fundraising matters, Blagojevich brushed it aside as "political horse trading." When "Today" show Meredith Vieira pressed him about whether he accepted any responsibility for his troubles, he said he should have been more careful about whom he "put faith in and trusted, advisers and different people."

Blagojevich, a Democrat who was impeached and removed from office by the Illinois legislature, said he would appeal his sole conviction of lying to the FBI. And he challenged federal prosecutors to release all of the evidence it compiled against him, including tapes in the days leading up to his arrest in December 2008.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said Wednesday the government plans to retry the case, going after the remaining 23 charges related to bribery, racketeering and wiretapping. Eleven of the 12 jurors voted to convict Blagojevich of attempting to sell Obama's seat, according to the Associated Press. As governor, he had the power to fill the vacancy when Obama resigned from the Senate after being elected president.