By Allan Lengel

It’s not everyday, within the confines of a five-page court filing, that a defense attorney gets to cram in the names Tony Soprano, President Obama and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

But Sam Adams, who represents the fiesty ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich,  did just that the other day in a response to a government filing.

Ex-Gov. Blagojevich in happier days

As part of the pretrial discovery process,  Adams is asking that the government turn over interviews by the FBI  of “White House family and staff, not the least of whom is the President of the United States, Barack Obama.”

“What justification can the government offer for the government’s refusal to provide material?” he asks, and goes on to cite the government’s reluctance to provide a witness list out of concern for the security and possible harassment of witnesses.

“The government’s alleged concern about the harassment and security of witnesses… cannot be taken seriously,” he wrote. “This defendant is Rod Blagojevich, not Tony Soprano. This is the trial of the former governor for alleged non-violent offenses, not a replay of the “FAMILY SECRETS” trial.

Khalid Sheik Mohammad

“A government confident enough in its own rectitude to try purported terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed  in a United States District court in New York should likewise be secure enough to provide the accused former Illinois with the requested statements of the President of the United States. What next, a government motion to limit the tapes to only those the government wants played at trial?”

Read Motion

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