Dear Governor Blagojevich

Dear Governor Blagojevich:

I know you've had a long day.

Apparently, federal agents showed up at your house to arrest you at 6 a.m. for trying to sell Barack Obama's senate seat to the highest bidder.

You're probably wondering what to do. I have some advice.

Back in 2004, I had a rather infamous run-in with Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney in Chicago who has taken such a keen interest in you. He was also, of course, appointed special prosecutor in the CIA leak case. I remember well because I was in his sights once, too.

I had written an article for Time.com called, "A War on Wilson?" in which I tried to point out the scurrilous rumors that Bush administration officials were putting out about former Ambassador Joseph Wilson and his wife, Valerie Plame Wilson. Fitzgerald wanted to know who leaked the identity of Wilson's wife, a CIA agent, and he subpoenaed me to testify. I refused and so did my employer, Time Inc.

A court battle ensued that went all the way to the Supreme Court. After one of my sources, Karl Rove, released me from the bonds of confidentiality, I testified, narrowly escaping jail for contempt of court.

Being from Chicago you know that Fitzy, as his friends like to call him, is notoriously tough and single-minded. He's married now but I'm sure the son of Irish immigrants is still a workaholic, and having convicted what seems like half of Chicago (along with the likes of Scooter Libby and Conrad Black), I don't think he's slacking off just because a new president is coming in. I'm sure you know about how tough he is.

I don't think Fitzgerald is a cruel man. He could have put my big white butt in jail as soon as the first federal judge laughed my case out of court. But he didn't. He waited for me to make all my appeals to the Supreme Court, which meant putting his incredibly high-profile case on hold for a year. A vengeful prosecutor wouldn't have done that.

(I think a wiser one wouldn't have gone after me to be a witness in what was essentially a perjury case in the first place, but that's another matter.)

The point here is I don't think you're dealing with a modern-day Javert or some loon. He's a hard ass, but a reasonable one and I think, if you believe you are guilty and are going to lose at trial, you might get a decent deal out of this. Sure, you'll have to do time but you're a relatively young guy. Fitz will deal.

You're definitely better off dealing now. Whoever inherits the case from Fitzgerald can't afford to be seen as going light on you. It's bad enough you (allegedly) tried to sell a Senate seat but it's the president's seat, for gosh sakes. Obama's Justice Department is gonna be even tougher on you. It can't afford not to be.

And even if it was inclined to show any mercy, do you think Rahm would sit idly by? He took your seat in the House and you know him well. I don't have to tell you that you're better off dealing with the Crips and Bloods than with a pissed off Rahm.

You wanna deal with Fitzgerald directly, you and him. When I became a government witness, he interviewed me alone and knew the details of my case better than I did. He doesn't rely on a phalanx of aides, although he has them. He knows the case and will make the decisions himself.

As I discovered in my prison research, there's really no such thing as a country club prison any more. Even minimum-security facilities like the one I wanted to go to in Cumberalnd, Maryland, aren't fun. They're crowded, filled with check kiters and drug dealers and other folks you don't want to share a bunk with.

But you won't get shanked there or raped and you'll be able to get through your time. That's if you get a sentence that's less than seven years. Anything longer and you'll have to go to a tougher federal lockup.

I'd shoot for the minimum security and seven years in prison. You can argue that you won't really be safe in anything tougher and that argument might appeal to Fitzy.

Contrition is key here. This is a guy who went to the best parochial school in New York and like those tough Jesuits who taught him, he can smell a liar. If you beg for mercy, you might get it. (Of course, if this is all a big misunderstanding and you were just shooting the bull with your pals, then, hey, fight like hell.)

One thing I would not do is appoint yourself or someone to the Senate while you still can. It might be tempting to name yourself a Senator on the same day you get indicted but the Senate surely won't seat you and you'll only inflame Fitzgerald. I'd tell him and the public sooner rather than later that because of the controversy you're not going to name anyone.

Our situations are different, of course. I was never accused of a criminal act, only of being a reluctant witness. But I think I know Fitzgerald a bit and I think you can cut a deal.

Best of luck!

Sincerely,

Matthew Cooper