Under friendly questioning from his defense attorney, Blagojevich continues to deny that he ever shook down either John Johnston or Gerald Krozel.

“Did you demand that he [Krozel] fundraise for you?”

“No.”

Blago got a fair amount of leeway before government objections took over, to explain the politics he was facing at the time.

“Madigan was blocking everything I proposed. I needed to create a demand for the Capital bill that would do good things for people,” he said.

Because he wanted a Capital bill, he said he never favored a larger $7.1 billion plan pushed by the road builders. Krozel testified earlier in the trial that he felt pressured to contribute to ensure that the $7.1 billion plan happened.