Rod Blagojevich defends himself at his impeachment trial

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Alternately praising and upbraiding those who will decide his political fate, Gov. Rod Blagojevich today urged the Illinois Senate not to remove him from office, saying he has "done absolutely nothing wrong" and "never, ever intended to violate the law."

"There hasn't been a single piece of information that proves any wrongdoing," Blagojevich said to senators who were mostly stoic. "How can you throw a governor out of office with insufficient and incomplete evidence?"

The governor's dramatic, 47-minute closing argument unfolded as the Senate prepares to take a historic vote on whether to make Blagojevich the first Illinois governor dumped from office.