Blago: Prosecutor 'man enough' to meet?

CHICAGO, April 21 (UPI) -- Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich called federal prosecutors "cowards and liars" and challenged Chicago's U.S. attorney to meet him in court Wednesday.

Blagojevich repeated his demand U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald allow all 500 hours of audio recordings in his corruption case to be played, a request that has been denied by the judge, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

By turns pointing and shouting into TV cameras at a press conference Tuesday evening, the former governor addressed the prosecutor directly: "I challenge Mr. Fitzgerald. Why don't you show up in court tomorrow and explain to everybody, say to the whole world why you don't want those tapes that you made played in court?" Blagojevich said. "I'll be in court (Wednesday). I hope you're man enough to be there tomorrow too."

Fitzgerald's office declined to comment.

Blagojevich's case is scheduled for noon Wednesday to review pretrial filings and procedural matters, and prosecutors are expected to attend, the Sun-Times said.

Blagojevich, who spoke for 2 minutes and took no questions, said prosecutors want to keep many of the tapes from the public because they would prove Fitzgerald had committed a "big lie" in his allegations after the then-governor's arrest in late 2008.

"There is a smoking gun in those tapes, and the smoking gun is that the government is covering up the big lie Mr. Fitzgerald gave to the world when he had me arrested."

Dean Polales, a defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor, said of Blagovich's televised outburst: "He's trying to communicate to the potential jury pool that he truly believes in his own innocence."

Blagojevich also angrily disputed prosecutors' allegations his wife, Patti, had helped get the governor money through bogus real estate commissions.

"They're now hitting below the belt and attacking my wife," he said. "She works hard in everything that she does … and all that money she earned she worked for."

Blagojevich has repeatedly maintained his innocence of corruption allegations, including trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by U.S. President Barack Obama.