Blagojevich signs deal for tell-all

Rod Blagojevich, the Illinois governor removed from office last month after an impeachment vote, signed a deal Monday to write a book “exposing the dark side of politics,” his publicist said.

Blagojevich signed a “six-figure” deal to write a book for independent publisher, Phoenix Books, publicist Glenn Selig said in a news release.

Selig said the former governor “plans on exposing the dark side of politics that he witnessed in both the state and national level.”

The book, with a working title of The Governor, is scheduled for release in October. It will focus on “the discussions, the considerations and the factors involved in picking” a U.S. Senate successor to President Barack Obama, Selig said.

Blagojevich “does not intend to pull any punches and will reveal information and provide insights that will at times be embarrassing to himself as well as to others,” according to Selig’s release.

Blagojevich was ousted from the governor’s post in January after his Dec. 9 arrest on corruption charges that include allegations he tried to sell Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat. He denies any wrongdoing.

Steven Miller, former chief of special prosecutions in the U.S. attorney’s office, told the Associated Press that any defendant who writes a book “would be well advised to have his attorney screen the book to make sure there were no admissions that could be used against him at a trial.”

Informed that the book was touted as a tell-all with embarrassing information, Miller noted that “being embarrassed and being incriminated are two different concepts. There can be material that is embarrassing but not incriminating.”

Phoenix Books is the latest publishing venture of Michael Vine, who broke into independent publishing under the New Millenium imprint with a series of scandal-inspired books including a memoir by disgraced New York Times reporter Jayson Blair. Phoenix publishes titles by businessman Gene Simmons and talk show host Larry King, as well as fiction and mysteries.

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