Fitzgerald requests an extension to indict Blagojevich

Fitzgerald Asks for More Time to Indict Blagojevich  

Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald asked a federal judge for more time to bring an indictment against Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to commit fraud and solicitation of a bribe.

Fitzgerald cited the complexity of the case against the governor, a Democrat, and said the holiday season interrupted his presentation of evidence to a grand jury, preventing him from meeting a Jan. 7 deadline, according to papers filed today with U.S. District Judge James Holderman in Chicago.

"The investigation includes multiple defendants and potential defendants as well as thousands of intercepted phone calls," Fitzgerald told the court.