By ,
Published May 08, 2017
And now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
Previous Engagement
The judge in the Rod Blagojevich corruption re-trial says he would consider rescheduling court around the Oprah Winfrey Show.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports a potential juror says she has tickets for a show next month. One of the prosecutors pointed out that it is Oprah's last season hosting her syndicated program.
The judge said the request seemed a little over the top, but that it would be revisited later.
Nest Egg
The former city manager of a Los Angeles suburb reportedly set up a secret pension fund worth $4.5 million for about 40 public employees.
Robert Rizzo is already on trial for allegedly masterminding a scam in which he paid himself and other top officials of Bell, California massive salaries while nearly bankrupting the city.
He also reportedly wanted the city to spend $14 million on a secondary pension fund for himself and his assistant who was earning more than $375 thousand annually.
Rizzo had a compensation package of $1.5 million a year for managing a city of $40,000 where one in six lives in poverty.
Mr. Write
And finally, Levi Johnston is coming out with a tell-all book that he says is about his perplexing fall from grace that will set the record straight about his relationship with the Palin family. The book is called "Deer in the Headlights: My Life in Sarah Palin's Crosshairs."
Johnston fathered a child with Bristol Palin when they were teenagers. He says he's writing the book for himself, his son and the country.
https://www.foxnews.com/transcript/blagojevich-juror-has-oprah-tickets