Blagojevich Guilty of Lying to Federal Agents

CHICAGO (AP) _ A federal jury found former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich guilty on Tuesday of one count of lying to federal agents, and the judge said he intends to declare a mistrial on the remaining counts.

Prosecutors said immediately after the verdict was read that they intend to retry the case against Blagojevich and his co-defendant brother as soon as possible. He had faced 24 counts in all. Judge James B. Zagel set a hearing for August 26th to decide manner and timing of the retrial.

The count on which Blagojevich was found guilty included accusations that he lied to federal agents when he said he did not track campaign contributions and kept a "firewall" between political campaigns and government work. It carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.

Zagel said Blagojevich's bond will stay the same.

Blagojevich spoke to reporters Tuesday after the guilty verdict and vowed to appeal his single conviction against him and says he's the victim of persecution by the federal government.