Blago on Monday: Nothing But Sunshine Over Me

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) sounded an optimistic tone just hours before he was arrested Tuesday on federal corruption charges.

“I don’t believe there’s any cloud that hangs over me,” he said Monday at a news conference. “I believe there’s nothing but sunshine hanging over me.”

Blagojevich was responding to a report from last weekend that one of his advisers wore a wiretap to tape their conversations for investigators. On Tuesday, Blagojevich was arrested on federal charges that he tried to sell the state’s open U.S. Senate seat for personal benefits. He also allegedly sought to receive benefits in exchange for support of state legislation and threatened to withhold state funding from the Chicago Tribune if it didn’t remove editors critical of him.

On Monday, Blagojevich dared others to tape his conversations.

“I appreciate anybody who wants to tape me openly and notoriously,” he said. “And those who feel like they want to sneakily — and wear taping devices, I remind them that it kind of smells like Nixon and Watergate.”

Watch Blagojevich’s remarks Monday, courtesy of TalkingPointsMemo.