Blagojevich trial postponed

CHICAGO, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- A federal judge granted a defense request Friday to postpone the re-trial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

U.S. District Judge James Zagel set April 20 as the new date for jury selection to begin, the Chicago Tribune reported. The trial had been scheduled for January.

Blagojevich was convicted in August on one count of lying to FBI agents, but jurors were unable to reach a verdict on 23 additional charges. The massive defense team he had has been cut drastically because the government is now paying his legal expenses.

One of Blagojevich's lawyers, Lauren Kaeseberg, filed a motion Friday asking the judge to push the trial back to May. She said that, with breaks for Thanksgiving and other holidays, lawyers only have 43 business days before Jan. 1.

"To proceed to trial in two months time with a drastically reduced defense team is an unworkable framework," Kaeseberg wrote.

Blagojevich, who was impeached and thrown out of office by the state Legislature, is charged with "pay to play" extortion, including an alleged attempt to sell the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Barack Obama.