- Patrick Fitzgerald, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is a public menace.
He makes it hard for people to exist and behave as they normally would in their natural habitat. Rod Blagojevich, Tony Rezko and others were doing only what came natural when Fitzgerald decided to stick his nose in their business. I mean, who ever heard of a person being arrested for a shakedown, especially when done properly, like Rezko and Blago do it?
If it were left up to me, it would be Fitzgerald who will be led off to the hoosegow, not our beloved governor. Listen to this description of Clean Fitz:
Kent Redfield, a political scientist at the University of Illinois, said Fitzgerald used indictments to pressure the governor’s confidants to turn on one another.
“It’s a message: You are in my sights, and I’d like to get you to come in and talk to me,” Redfield said. “It puts pressure on the person you indicted and puts on notice the next person up the chain.”
In seven years as U.S. attorney in Chicago, Fitzgerald generally has won strong reviews from government and defense lawyers alike. Obama is said to be considering keeping Fitzgerald in his job even though the coveted spots typically turn over with a new administration. But defense lawyers who have faced Fitzgerald say he can be hard-nosed when it comes to even small fish trapped in the government’s net.
One former prosecutor who knew Fitzgerald 20 years ago, when the U.S. attorney was a junior defense lawyer, said he was zealous in pursuit of his goals and offended by violations of the public trust.
“His line between right and wrong is very bright, and it’s very easy for him to see that line,” the former prosecutor said. “If there’s a brick wall, he’ll take it down brick by brick.”
That’s just not right.