A potential juror in Rod Blagojevich's trial was excused after pleading that she had tickets to one of Oprah Winfrey's final talk-show tapings and didn't want to miss it.
It was unclear whether the woman was excused because of the tickets or for other reasons. The former Illinois governor, who is being re-tried on corruption charges, said he was jealous, Chicago station WBEZ reported.
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"I'm very happy that that juror was dismissed from the jury pursuant to her request so that she can actually go and do what is a once-in-a-lifetime thing and that is see the Oprah Winfrey Show," he said.
As he walked away from the microphones, a reporter asked Blagojevich if he thought the Oprah tickets were golden, WBEZ said. He then returned to the microphones and said, "No. I would say they're f—ing golden."
That was a reference to a phone conversation, secretly taped by federal agents, in which he said his power to appoint someone to President Obama's vacated Senate seat was "f—ing golden."