More evidence of Dems missing the ethics gene...

CHICAGO – The attorney for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said the governor will be vindicated and has no plans to resign.

"He didn't do anything wrong," attorney Sheldon Sorosky told reporters after Blagojevich appeared in court on Tuesday. "A lot of this is just politics."

Blagojevich should be in the office on Wednesday, Sorosky added.

So, reporters asked, he doesn’t intend to resign?

"Not that I know of, no," said Sorosky, who added that the governor was "surprised" by the day's events, but his spirits are “good.”

Blagojevich was arrested before sunrise Tuesday on corruption charges and had a bond hearing at 2:30 p.m. the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.

He appeared before a judge wearing a jogging outfit – blue fleece, black pants and sneakers. Blagojevich held his head high, with a slight air of defiance except when a prosecutor read the charges against him, which carry penalties of up to 30 years in prison and $500,000 in fines.

In a courtroom filled to capacity, with a line out the door, the governor looked to the floor as the charges were read aloud. He spoke only to say “yes,” when he was asked about turning in his passport. Blagojevich was released his own recognizance on a $4,500 cash bond, and told not to travel outside the United States. His next court
hearing was set for January 14 at 10 a.m.

The governor shook hands with one of the prosecutors before leaving the courthouse through secluded exit, seemingly to avoid reporters. "He is still the governor of the state of Illinois," U.S. Marshall Kim Widup explained to media staked out in the lobby.

Some of the press had been camped out in the courthouse for hours, inspiring Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna to make an appearance to say in person what a press release made clear earlier in the day: The state party believes Blagojevich should resign.

Don’t expect that to happen, according to Sorosky.

“He will be vindicated,” Sorosky said of his client as a swarm of reporters encircled him and followed him to his car down the street from the courthouse. “The governor is an honest man who tries to do the right thing.”