Blagojevich was arrested on federal corruption charges on December 9, 2008. The charges involved conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery. The Justice Department complaint alleges that the governor conspired to commit several "pay to play" schemes, including attempting "to obtain personal gain ... through the corrupt use" of his authority to fill Barack Obama's vacated United States Senate seat. In a press briefing on the investigation, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald characterized the scheme as auctioning the seat off to "the highest bidder". The federal trial date has been set for 3 June 2010.
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