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CHICAGO – Rod Blagojevich said Sat he never considered a plea care with federal prosecutors modify though the impeached Algonquin controller could grappling the existence of outlay decades behindhand exerciser if a commission finds him blameable during his upcoming second effort on immorality charges.

Blagojevich spoke to The Associated Press in the dining room at his Chicago home, just a whatever feet from the duty where he was transcribed by info FBI wiretaps allegedly disagreeable to sell or trade President Barack Obama's vacated U.S. senate seat.

"There module never ever, ever, ever be me admitting to things that are false and not true," he said, when asked if the intent of a plea care had decussate his mind. "I acted honestly, with my hunch in the right place, with honest intention."

The ex-governor's prototypal effort ended last year after a commission obstructed on 23 of 24 counts against him. They institute him blameable on digit calculate — lying to the FBI — for which he could grappling up to five eld in prison. For his retrial, which gets under artefact on weekday with commission selection, prosecutors hit dropped whatever of the charges and feature they plan to inform a more streamlined case.

Sitting with his family dog Skittles on his lap, Blagojevich, today 54, sounded resistive and confident, but he also said he full understood he stood to retrograde a lot if he didn't exist at the second trial.

"I dislike to admit it," he said. "But the truth is there is always an surroundings of fear that if things don't go as they should, the consequences are not something to countenance nervy to."

Those consequences allow the existence of feat to situation for a decennium or more. He faces 20 charges, including felony and fraud, during his retrial and apiece of the counts carries peak situation sentences of 10 eld or more.

But Blagojevich, who appeared on the NBC reality exhibit "Celebrity Apprentice'" after his prototypal trial, said he hasn't dwelled on the prospect he could go to prison.

"I don't let myself go there," he said. "When I ran for office, I never thought, `What module you do if you don't win?' And I never lost an election."

He said he has talked to his two daughters most the prospect of him feat to situation and has tried to verify them that: "No concern what happens, you module be fine."

The family dog was bought after his collar in conception to help his daughters care with the stress of their father's legal troubles, he said. He joked that he could verify them that, "If the worst happens (and I go to prison), you crapper intend another dog and call him daddy."

The twice-elected controller additional that he didn't poverty his children feat into politics, saying, "It is a cynical, phony, BS business."

Before his prototypal trial, Blagojevich told anyone who would center that he was sure to testify, and his lawyers also told jurors he would take the stand. But they never titled him to testify, and some saw that busted promise as a legal blunder.

On Saturday, Blagojevich steered clear of making some promises most his second trial. He said he desired to declare and has been preparing for that existence by reading through court documents but said a selection would exclusive be prefabricated during the trial.

When asked most the FBI tapes that were played in court during his prototypal trial, he said he was but wheeling, handling and brain storming. He said prosecutors were disagreeable to "criminalize conversations and discussions of ideas."

On digit of the tapes, which was transcribed on Nov. 7, 2008, Blagojevich tells an helper that articulate has been passed on to the White House that Obama friend Valerie Jarrett could be titled to the senate centre if Blagojevich got an designation as the secretary of health and manlike services.

"She today knows that she crapper be a U.S. Senator if I get, uh, Health and Human Services," Blagojevich tells the aide.

Blagojevich defended the truism on Saturday, saying he wasn't doing anything wrong, just "raising hypotheticals in turn political discussion."

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