CHICAGO -- After 14 days of jury deliberation, the verdict in the trial of disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was not guilty on all but one of the 23 counts. And a number of Americans are wondering why -- after months of grandstanding by the prosecutor U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald -- citizens are left with practically nothing after millions of their tax dollars were spent on this Chicago corruption case.

One group, a Washington, DC legal watchdog group, began its own investigation into this case that was expected to -- but failed to -- touch President Barack Obama's inner-circle.

According to The New York Times:
Prosecutors here once said that the conduct of Rod R. Blagojevich, the former governor of Illinois, was so despicable it would make Abraham Lincoln “roll over in his grave,” but 12 jurors in the federal corruption case against him were apparently not all so certain.

After deliberating for 14 days, the jury found Mr. Blagojevich guilty of a single criminal count — making false statements to the F.B.I., which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, one of the least severe penalties in the charges against him.

Public-interest group, Judicial Watch, sent their own correspondent -- Irene Garcia -- to Chicago to report on the Blagojevich trial first-hand.

* Blagojevich’s former Chief of Staff John Harris testified that President Obama had personal knowledge of Blagojevich’s scheme to get his hands on a presidential cabinet position by appointing a candidate handpicked by the president to take over Obama’s former Senate seat.

* Obama’s preferred candidate, at least initially, according to testimony, was Valerie Jarrett, currently the Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement. (Obama and Jarrett go all the way back to the days when Obama was a law professor and Jarrett an alleged corrupt slumlord.)

* Explosive federal wiretaps played at trial captured Blagojevich offering Obama’s Senate seat for a cabinet position. In one conversation, Blagojevich told Harris he wanted to be named Secretary of Health and Human Services if Valerie Jarrett got Obama’s seat. If Health Secretary “was available to me I could do Valerie Jarrett in a heartbeat," Blagojevich is heard saying.

* The president also sent Blagojevich a list of other “acceptable” Senate candidates to fill his old seat. The list included Tammy Duckworth, Illinois State Comptroller Dan Hynes, Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, according to Harris. Harris also testified that three days after the 2008 presidential election Blagojevich told him he felt confident Obama wanted to swap perks.

* Blagojevich repeatedly ferried messages to President Obama through White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. For example, John Harris testified that Blagojevich asked him to call Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to see if the president was “still in agreement” that the Senate seat should go to Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (The evidence suggests that Rep. Jackson, Jr. separately sought the Senate seat in exchange for a $1 million payoff.)

"It looked to me that the trial was turning into a political nightmare for the Obama White House. And this may explain why the prosecution shut their case down a month early," said Judicial Watch's Tom Fitton.

Immediately following the Blagojevich verdict, federal prosecutors promised to quickly retry the case, leading The Washington Post to speculate whether the Obama White House would be dragged into the mess this time around… if U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald has his way, there will be a new trial. New attempts by the prosecution to build a case against Blagojevich. New efforts by the defense to subpoena Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett to the stand.

It might be no more likely that Jarrett and Emanuel would actually testify in court, but just the prospect will generate headlines again — headlines that would not aid the president's goal of keeping his administration focused on the economy.

"Let’s hope prosecutors get it right this time. I suspect that Eric Holder’s politicized Justice Department interfered with the investigation conducted by the reputedly independent U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. This trial and our independent investigation showed Obama lied about his communications with Blago. This is a serious case that demands an investigation and prosecution untainted by politics," said Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton.

"If and when there is a new trial, Irene will once again be back on the job, and I will continue to keep you posted in this space," he stated.