Patrick Fitzgerald

Patrick Fitzgerald

Patrick J. Fitzgerald (born December 22, 1960) is the former United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and a member of the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel. He was the federal prosecutor in charge of the investigation of the Valerie Plame Affair, which led to the prosecution and conviction of Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff Scooter Libby for perjury.

He was involved in a number of other high-profile cases, pursuing Illinois Governor George Ryan, media mogul Conrad Black, several aides to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley in the Hired Truck Program, and Chicago detective and alleged torturer Jon Burge. His office investigated an alleged conspiracy to sell Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder, which led to the arrest of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on December 9, 2008 on corruption charges. Blagojevich was convicted in August 2010 on one charge, but the jury deadlocked on the 23 other charges. The charges against Blagojevich's brother, Robert, were subsequently dismissed, while Rod Blagojevich was re-tried and convicted on 17 of 20 counts on June 27, 2011.

Read more about Patrick Fitzgerald:  Personal, Ethical Questions

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