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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Gov. Rod Blagojevich has asked to make a statement at the impeachment trial he has so far avoided, but still refuses to answer questions from the lawmakers who will decide whether to remove him from office, the Illinois Senate president announced Wednesday.

A buzz swept through the Senate chambers during the surprise announcement, which interrupted the third day of the unprecedented trial. The prosecution later rested its case against Blagojevich, who is accused of trying to sell President Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder, among other corruption charges.

"It's my understanding that the governor wishes to file an appearance to give a closing argument, not to testify or to submit himself to cross-examination," Senate President John Cullerton said. "Just to give a closing argument."

Closing arguments are expected Thursday, and the Senate could decide Blagojevich's fate later that day.

The Democratic governor has refused to take part in the proceedings. Instead, he appeared on one news show after another to proclaim his innocence and declare the trial unconstitutional, saying he wouldn't dignify it by participating.

Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero said he didn't know what the governor planned to say but that he decided to go to Springfield because he wants a chance to make his argument.

"I don't think he's going down there to resign; I think he's going down to make his appeal to the senators," Guerrero said.

Making a closing statement would be different from testifying, which would have allowed senators and the impeachment prosecutor to question Blagojevich.

Sen. Dan Cronin, R-Elmhurst, called the governor's request "cowardly, but consistent with the way he has governed."

The two-term governor has denied any wrongdoing since being arrested last month on a variety of corruption charges, including scheming to benefit from appointing Obama's Senate replacement and demanding campaign contributions in exchange for state services.

Cullerton recommended Wednesday that senators agree to Blagojevich's unusual request. He said the governor would be given 90 minutes to make a closing statement — in effect, acting as his own attorney. His recommendation was backed by Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont.

Cullerton said senators won't make a formal decision on the request until after the governor arrives in Springfield on Thursday and formally files a motion to appear.

Earlier Wednesday, Cullerton challenged Blagojevich to show up and explain himself and objected to the governor's tour of national media. Blagojevich has put up no defense at the trial, but says wiretapped conversations released when he was arrested on federal corruption charges are being taken out of context.

"If he wants to come down here instead of hiding out in New York and having Larry King asking questions instead of the senators, I think he's making a mistake," Cullerton said. "He should come here and answer the questions and provide the context he claims that these statements are being taken out of."

Meanwhile, impeachment prosecutor David Ellis rested his case after saying he would call fewer witnesses than originally planned because much of the material was covered Tuesday by the testimony of an FBI agent.

Republicans objected, saying they wanted to hear from everyone possible, even if they're just summarizing the conclusions of the Illinois House impeachment probe.

"I'll sit here on Super Bowl Sunday, if I have to, to make sure the governor of the great state of Illinois gets a fair trial," said Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale.

The senators weighing Blagojevich's political fate listened Tuesday to the governor's voice captured on a secret government wiretap and heard an FBI agent say the recordings caught one corrupt scheme after another.

Blagojevich, 52, doesn't deny making the comments. But he says they were taken out of context and don't amount to anything illegal.

No other Illinois governor has been impeached, let alone convicted in a Senate trial.

If Blagojevich is convicted, he will be removed from office and replaced by Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn, a fellow Democrat.

CHICAGO – Launching an all-out media blitz as his impeachment trial draws near, Gov. Rod Blagojevich compared himself Friday to an honest, hardworking cowboy and said he was about to be lynched by a band of black-hatted political insiders eager to raise taxes.

After keeping mostly out of the public eye since his arrest on federal corruption charges, Blagojevich reversed course with a series of interviews and public statements portraying himself as the victim of vengeful lawmakers eager 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.

Blagojevich 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. He may ask the Illinois Supreme Court to block the trial, arguing its rules are hopelessly biased against him.

Blagojevich, a fan of Western movies, drew a long analogy Friday between his situation and that of a cowboy falsely accused of stealing a horse. His story ended with one cowboy suggesting the accused thief be hanged, with 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.

The Democratic governor told The Associated Press on Thursday night that he's willing to sacrifice himself for principle by standing up to lawmakers he believes are violating the Illinois Constitution. "The fight will continue," he said.

Blagojevich's fight would have one fewer supporter as his chief defense attorney, Ed Genson, announced Friday that he would pull out of the federal criminal case. In announcing his withdrawal, Genson insinuated the governor didn't listen to his advice.

"I never require a client to do what I say, but I do require them to at least listen," Genson said.

Blagojevich said Friday afternoon that he was surprised by Genson's announcement and had no further comment.

Blagojevich also suffered a legal setback Friday when a federal court ruled that state lawmakers could hear a handful of FBI wiretaps made in the corruption investigation that led to Blagojevich's arrest.

In a court motion, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said the conversations show Blagojevich conspiring with a lobbyist to collect campaign money in exchange for the governor signing gambling legislation.

Blagojevich's main fight now is a public relations battle, and he called Friday for Illinois newspapers to publish editorials demanding the Senate change its trial rules. Federal prosecutors have alleged he put pressure on company executives to fire the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune for writing unflattering opinion pieces about him.

It's not clear what, if anything, Blagojevich hopes to gain from his strategy of boycotting the impeachment trial and defending himself through the media. He has planned appearances Monday on "Good Morning, America" and "The View."

Several legal experts said refusing to participate in the trial or resign from office makes little sense.

"There's no benefit at all, except to make himself look ridiculous. In addition, anything he says can be used against him later" in court," said Leonard Cavise, a law professor at DePaul University.

The FBI arrested Blagojevich on corruption charges, including the allegation he schemed to benefit from his power to name President Barack Obama's replacement in the U.S. Senate, after years of investigation.

The governor's office, responding to a request under the Freedom of Information Act, released 43 federal subpoenas Friday, including some seeking records involving Obama advisers David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett.

His arrest triggered impeachment proceedings, and the House voted almost unanimously to send his case to the Senate for trial. A Senate conviction would remove him from office but have no impact on the continuing criminal case.

Blagojevich can stay in office if 20 of the Senate's 59 members vote for his acquittal. It's possible he hopes defending himself in interviews will inspire the public to pressure senators to support him.

Or Blagojevich may hope to build sympathy among potential jurors in some future criminal trial.

"All of these things are designed, I guess, to create grassroots support. I think it borders on delusional, to be honest," said Chicago trial attorney Matt Belcher.

Shortly after his arrest, an independent poll found his job-approval rating had dwindled to just 8 percent. A recent poll for the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform found that nearly 8 out of 10 Illinois residents believe the state is on the wrong track.

The combative approach is a return to a favorite Blagojevich tactic.

Since taking office six years ago, he has often portrayed himself as a lone champion of the people, outnumbered by uncaring lawmakers, a lazy bureaucracy and slick lobbyists.

"I took that system on. I challenged that system," he said Friday. "That's what this is all about."

The governor twisted facts or exaggerated to support his version of events.

He has repeatedly said he wouldn't be allowed to call witnesses in the Senate trial, but that's not correct. Trial rules prohibit witnesses that federal prosecutors feel would interfere with their criminal case, such as Jarrett or Obama aide Rahm Emanuel, but Blagojevich could have called other people.

He has specifically mentioned wanting to call governors and senators to testify about all the good he's done. Nothing in Senate rules would have barred those witnesses. Blagojevich never asked to have them testify.

The trial rules also would have allowed him to introduce a report by Obama's transition team concluding that none of the president's aides received improper proposals from the Blagojevich administration. The governor also could have introduced any public comments they made.

Amid his defiant remarks, Blagojevich displayed a brief moment of contrition, acknowledging for the first time since his arrest that he wasn't always perfect.

"Notwithstanding mistakes and errors in judgment from time to time, most of the things I've done as governor have been the right things and have been things that helped people," he said.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A key panel unanimously recommended impeachment for Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday, setting up a vote that could make him the first governor to face such fate in Illinois' sordid political history. Blagojevich should lose his job for abusing power, mismanaging government and committing possible criminal acts, including federal allegations he tried to sell off a U.S. Senate seat, the special committee concluded.

Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) votes to recommend the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich

The governor's office issued a statement calling the panel's proceedings flawed and biased.

The full House could vote as early as Friday morning. A vote for impeachment would trigger a Senate trial to decide whether the second-term Democrat should be removed from office.

Many on the 21-member special committee called it a sad day for Illinois, but Rep. Bill Black disagreed.

"I think this is a good, glad, happy day for Illinois because it points out that nobody is above the law," said Black, a Republican. "There have been egregious abuses if half of what we read is true."

Blagojevich denies any wrongdoing and his office's statement called the panel's vote a "foregone conclusion" resulting from proceedings where his team was "never given the chance to put on any kind of defense."

The statement also assumes the full House will vote to impeach.

"When the case moves to the Senate, an actual judge will preside over the hearings, and the Governor believes the outcome will be much different," it reads.

Spokesman Lucio Guerrero said earlier there was no chance Blagojevich would resign before the full House decision. Blagojevich's attorneys left the hearing before the committee voted.

The committee's report said that the citizens of Illinois "must have confidence that their governor will faithfully serve the people and put their interests before his own. It is with profound regret that the committee finds that our current governor has not done so."

Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 on federal charges that include allegations he schemed to profit from his power to name President-elect Barack Obama's replacement in the Senate.

He later appointed Roland Burris to fill the Senate seat, and Burris testified Thursday that he did not make a deal with the governor to win the plum position.

"There was nothing .... legal, personal, or political exchanged for my appointment to this seat," Burris testified under oath.

While the governor maintains his innocence, the report notes he did not appear before the committee to explain himself. "The committee is entitled to balance his complete silence against sworn testimony from a federal agent," it says.

The committee's report recounts the federal charges, relying on a sworn affidavit from an FBI agent describing tape-recorded conversations in which Blagojevich discussed using the seat to land a job for himself or his wife. The governor also is quoted on the need to hide any evidence of a trade-off.

"The committee believes that this information is sufficiently credible to demonstrate an abuse of office of the highest magnitude," the report says.

It also lays out allegations separate from the criminal charges — that Blagojevich expanded a health care program without proper authority, that he circumvented hiring laws to give jobs to political allies, that he spent millions of dollars on foreign flu vaccine that he knew wasn't needed and couldn't be brought into the country.

The committee finished its work as chances grew dimmer that lawmakers would get transcripts of Blagojevich's secretly recorded conversations.

Court hearings on the release of the transcripts could run into early February, U.S. District Chief Judge James F. Holderman said Thursday.

Meanwhile, Blagojevich's defense attorneys urged Holderman to throw U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald and all of his assistants off the case, charging in a motion that Fitzgerald violated rules about pretrial publicity at a Dec. 9 news conference announcing the charges.

CHICAGO – A defiant Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday named a black political trailblazer to Barack Obama's Senate seat, a surprise move that put the governor's opponents in the uncomfortable position of trying to block his choice from becoming the Senate's only black member. Blagojevich's appointment of former state Attorney General Roland Burris injected race into the drama surrounding the embattled governor, who repeatedly sought to distance his selection from charges that he tried to sell the seat to the highest bidder.

AP Photo/Paul Beaty

"Please don't allow the allegations against me to taint a good and honest man," the governor said, turning to the smiling 71-year-old standing by his side.

"This is about Roland Burris as a U.S. senator, not about the governor who made the appointment."

Burris was the first African-American elected to major statewide office in Illinois, serving as comptroller and running for governor three times — the last time losing to Blagojevich.

He said he has no connection to the charges against Blagojevich, who was arrested earlier this month.

Even before the announcement, which was leaked several hours before, the governor's move ran into opposition.

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, who must certify the appointment, said Tuesday he will not do so. And Senate leaders reiterated that they would not accept anyone appointed by Blagojevich.

In a statement Tuesday, Senate Democrats maintained that Blagojevich should not make the appointment because doing so would be unfair to Burris and to the people of Illinois.

"It is truly regrettable that despite requests from all 50 Democratic senators and public officials throughout Illinois, Gov. Blagojevich would take the imprudent step of appointing someone to the United States Senate who would serve under a shadow and be plagued by questions of impropriety," the statement said.

"Under these circumstances, anyone appointed by Gov. Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and, as we have said, will not be seated by the Democratic caucus."

Obama struck the same tone.

"Roland Burris is a good man and a fine public servant, but the Senate Democrats made it clear weeks ago that they cannot accept an appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat. I agree with their decision," the president-elect said in a statement.

Senate leaders, who were scattered for the holidays, immediately convened a conference call. Some involved in the call were wary of being seen as denying a black man a seat in a chamber where, with Obama's departure, there are no blacks, according to two officials knowledgeable about the talks who requested anonymity in order to speak freely.

"We say this without prejudice toward Roland Burris' ability, and we respect his years of public service," the leaders wrote. But the issue is not about Burris, they said. "It is about the integrity of a governor accused of attempting to sell this United States Senate seat."

Rep. Bobby Rush, an Illinois Democrat who was invited to speak at Blagojevich's news conference, urged Senate leaders not to block Burris. In fact, he almost dared them to try to stop Burris' appointment.

"There is no rhyme or reason why he should not be seated in the U.S. Senate," Rush said. "I don't think any U.S. senator ... wants to go on record to deny one African-American from being seated in the U.S. Senate."

He told reporters that Senate Democrats should not "hang and lynch the appointee as you try to castigate the appointer."

Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 after federal prosecutors allegedly recorded conversations in which he discussed appointing someone Obama favored in exchange for a position in the new president's Cabinet or naming someone favored by a union if he got a high-level union job.

The governor has faced a flood of calls for his resignation, and the Illinois House has begun impeachment proceedings. He maintains his innocence, and has vowed to stay in office.

Blagojevich's own lawyer said recently that there would be no point in the governor naming someone to the Senate because leaders there would reject his appointment.

Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn said Blagojevich's decision to appoint Burris is an "insult to the people of Illinois."

"We believe in clean government, and Rod Blagojevich has unclean hands," Quinn said.

Republican House Minority Leader Tom Cross compared Blagojevich to "a rabid dog in a corner who's just going to lash out."

Democratic state Rep. Monique Davis of Chicago, a member of the impeachment committee, said Burris' appointment will have no bearing on its decision.

"Anybody that wants to put the race card in there, they're playing with the wrong group of people. We're not going to operate that way, we're not going to deliberate that way, we're not going to say, 'Oh, look what a good thing he's done.' We're not going to do it," Davis said.

Illinois law gives the governor sole power to fill a Senate vacancy. Lawmakers considered stripping Blagojevich of that power after his arrest but could not agree on legislation — a fact the governor, who had said he would support a bill calling for a special election, pointed out Tuesday.

He reportedly offered the seat to at least one other person.

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis told The Associated Press Tuesday that he met with an emissary of the governor twice last week. After thinking the proposal over, Davis said he turned the seat down on Sunday.

"I thought the environment had been poisoned," said Davis, who is black. "The environment was just a bit too murky, and it was not the kind of environment I would want to go into the Senate with."

Burris served as Illinois' comptroller from 1979 to 1991 and as the state's attorney general from 1991 to 1995. He also served as vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1985 to 1989.

More recently, however, Burris has had a string of political disappointments.

He lost campaigns for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1994, 1998 and 2002 — the last time losing to Blagojevich. In 1995, he was badly beaten when challenging Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.

Burris has been a consistent donor to Blagojevich in recent years.

He donated $1,000 to the Friends of Blagojevich fund in both 2004 and 2005, $1,500 in 2007 and $1,000 in June 2008, according to Illinois campaign finance data.