Blagojevich: Don't trust my words

CHICAGO, May 28 (UPI) -- Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said at his federal corruption retrial that sometimes the words that he spoke were not to be trusted, even by himself.

"A lot of my words outpace my ideas and good judgment, or my imperfect judgment. They came out of me fast, but then I had a chance to think about it," Blagojevich said, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Saturday.

In his second day of testimony Friday, Blagojevich explained a taped discussion with his former chief of staff Alonzo "Lon" Monk in which Monk said the governor should call horse racing executive John Johnston himself "from a pressure point of view."

Blagojevich is accused of attempting to shake down Johnston for a $100,000 campaign contribution in exchange for signing a bill that would divert casino funds into the horse racing industry.

Blagojevich said after the conversation with Monk, "It was like, 'Whoa, I'm not doing that,'" the Chicago Tribune reported.

Blagojevich's testimony has yet to touch on the central accusation, that he tried to extort money or a job in exchange for an appointment to Barack Obama's seat in the U.S. Senate, when Obama resigned to take his new job as president.