Blagojevich indictment delayed

In the latest wrinkle in the Rod Blagojevich political soap opera, the chief federal prosecutor asked today for more time to indict the Illinois governor.

US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald filed a motion seeking a 90-day extension, saying "multiple witnesses" have come forward in recent weeks and investigators have to review "thousands of intercepted phone calls," the Associated Press reports.

Federal prosecutors usually have 30 days to file an indictment against a defendant. That deadline would have been Jan. 7, and the extension would give Fitzgerald, who in announcing Blagojevich's arrest accused him of a political corruption "crime spree," until April 7. A spokesman for Fitzgerald told the AP a federal judge is scheduled to review the motion at a Monday hearing.

That delay means that Blagojevich could be impeached by the Illinois legislature before he is formally indicted, and could put more pressure on the US Senate to seat the replacement Blagojevich picked Tuesday to fill the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Senate Democrats reinforced Tuesday that they will not accept anyone appointed by Blagojevich -- a stance backed by Obama. But former Illinois attorney general Roland Burris, in a series of TV interviews, has urged senators not to judge him by the alleged sins of Blagojevich.

Burris has also not rebuffed the remarks of Representative Bobby Rush, who appeared to play the race card at Blagojevich's press conference Tuesday by noting that the US Senate does not have a black member now and by saying that Senate Democrats should not "hang and lynch the appointee as you try to castigate the appointer."

"It is a fact, there are no African-Americans in the United States Senate," Burris said on NBC's "Today." "Is it racism that is taking place? That's a question that someone may raise."

Burris told the Associated Press today that he plans to be in Washington next week when new senators are sworn in, but he won't make a scene if he's turned away by Senate leaders who object to his appointment.

"That is not my style. I am not seeking to be confrontational," he said.

UPDATE: The AP reports that Burris asked the Illinois Supreme Court today to force the secretary of state to certify his appointment. The secretary of state said Tuesday he would refuse to do so because of the legal cloud around Blagojevich.