The Illinois governor accused of trying to auction off a US Senate seat for personal gain said in an interview Monday he considered naming television talk show star Oprah Winfrey to the job. Skip related content
Related photos / videos Enlarge photo Rod Blagojevich, indicted by federal prosecutors on corruption charges, told ABC's "Good Morning America" that he thought about appointing the influential, mega-rich talk show queen to fill the seat formerly occupied by President Barack Obama.
"That is true," Blagojevich said when asked if he had mulled naming Winfrey.
The governor said he never contacted her and that "the idea came to me from a friend and then among the considerations we discussed whether or not is it made any sense."
"She seemed to be someone who had helped Barack Obama in a significant way become president. She was obviously someone with a much broader bully pulpit than other senators," he said.
But he said there were arguments against choosing the entertainment titan.
"She probably wouldn't take it and then if you offered (it) to her how would you do it in a way it wasn't a gimmick to embarrass her."
Blagojevich took to the airwaves to try to defend himself as Illinois lawmakers planned to launch impeachment proceedings on Monday that could force him from office within days.
The defiant Blagojevich has refused to appear before the state senate to defend himself against a host of charges he abused his power. He argues that he is not being given a fair hearing and that legislators were intent on "hanging" him so they could impose hefty tax hikes.
Obama, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing, so far has managed to emerge unscathed by the scandal which shone a national spotlight on corruption-tainted politics in Illinois.
Blagojevich, who was arrested December 9 amid what prosecutors called a "political corruption crime spree" stands accused of a host of misdeeds, including scheming to sell the seat vacated by Obama to the highest bidder.
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