Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has asked a full appellate court in Chicago to rehear his appeal after three judges recently overturned five of his 18 corruption convictions.
The imprisoned Democrat's lawyers filed the request Tuesday with the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The three-judge panel threw out convictions linked to Blagojevich's attempt to land a post in President Barack Obama's Cabinet in exchange for appointing an Obama adviser to the president's old U.S. Senate seat.
It also ordered that the 58-year-old be resentenced. But the ruling said the original 14-year sentence might be considered fair even after subtracting the five overturned counts. So, Blagojevich's chances of a drastically reduced sentence seem slim.
Blagojevich is hoping the full court will overturn more counts. Full-court hearings aren't granted automatically.
Blagojevich says in his first statement since entering prison that he'll ``fight on'' in the courts because ``what is at stake is nothing less than the rule of law.'' The Illinois Democrat's longtime public relations firm released the written statement Monday.
