Former judge criticizes Fitzgerald's Blago remark

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Chicago's top federal prosecutor went too far in saying last year that the conduct of then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich "would make Lincoln roll over in his grave," a prominent former judge said Thursday.

Abner J. Mikva, a former federal judge and congressman, told an American Bar Association panel that the remark by U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald on the day of Blagojevich's arrest could prejudice the pool of possible jurors if the case goes to trial.

"I certainly don't like the prosecutor coming out and trying the case (at a news conference) and possibly tainting the jury pool, and in the case of Rod Blagojevich he hadn't even indicted him yet," Mikva said.

Such a news conference is guaranteed to "generate so much publicity that it's part of the problem" of making sure that trials are fair, he said.

Does Blago think he has his back covered with Eric Holder over at DOJ?