Disgraced former governor targets top US lawmaker

WASHINGTON — Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, accused of trying to sell President Barack Obama's former Senate seat, has subpoenaed the state's senior US senator, the lawmaker's office said Friday.Blagojevich attorneys served Richard Durbin, the Senate's number two Democrat, with papers on April 16, spokesman Joe Shoemaker said, noting the ex-governor was also trying to force Obama to testify at his corruption trial."Given the former governor's previous antics regarding this case, it's no surprise he is casting a wide net -- apparently from the president down to dogcatcher," Shoemaker said in a statement."We have accepted service of the subpoena and will cooperate with the court in any reasonable way. The matter has been referred to counsel, and our office will not be commenting further."At the White House, spokesman Robert Gibbs also declined to comment.Lawyers for Blagojevich asked a judge Thursday to require the president to testify, saying Obama had "direct knowledge" of the alleged plot to auction the coveted seat to the highest bidder.Obama, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing, has insisted that neither he nor his staff were involved in the alleged scheme.The scandal, which broke two months after Obama won the November 4, 2008 election, threw a national spotlight on the culture of corruption in Illinois.Five of the past nine Illinois governors have been indicted or arrested for fraud or bribery and Blagojevich's predecessor, Republican George Ryan, is currently serving a six-and-a-half year sentence for fraud and racketeering.Blagojevich, 53, is accused of engaging in a pattern of pay-to-play politics that began before he was even elected governor in 2002.The Illinois state legislature ousted Blagojevich from office for abuse of power in a unanimous vote in December 2008 after the allegations came to light.The colorful governor skipped his impeachment trial and has pleaded not guilty to two dozen charges of conspiracy, extortion, fraud and bribery.He most recently made headlines with

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