'Thousands of phone calls' on feds' wiretaps

MORE TARGETS | 'Multiple witnesses have come forward,' authorities say

Prosecutors revealed Wednesday that they captured "thousands of phone calls" on secret wiretaps in their investigation into Gov. Blagojevich.

The disclosure came in a government filing in which prosecutors asked for a 90-day extension to indict Blagojevich and his former chief of staff, John Harris.

The filing also revealed that the government has additional targets in its ongoing probe and that the governor's Dec. 9 arrest spurred more witnesses to talk to prosecutors. "Multiple witnesses have come forward in recent weeks to discuss their knowledge of criminal activity," the filing states.

Thousands of phone calls were captured between October and December, but just four of them will be the subject of a hearing Monday in federal court.

Prosecutors are asking a federal judge to release four recordings to a House panel deciding whether the governor should be impeached.

Defense lawyers don't want the tapes to be made public.

They are expected to inform the judge that they plan to file a motion to suppress all of the recordings of Blagojevich on the basis that there wasn't proper probable cause to win the wiretaps, the Sun-Times has learned. Before the House panel, Blagojevich lawyer Ed Genson has repeatedly questioned the legality of the tapes.

The FBI tapped Blagojevich's home phone and the cell phone of his onetime top aide Lon Monk, and two bugs were planted in the governor's campaign office.

The probable cause basis for the listening devices came from information provided by John Wyma, a former Blagojevich insider who has met with authorities, according to the criminal complaint. Chief U.S. District Judge James Holderman authorized the government to issue the wiretaps and install listening devices. Another judge approved their extension.

That issue, as well as a request for more time to indict, are expected to come up before Holderman on Monday.

Prosecutors have 30 days to indict in order for the case to move forward to trial, but requests for extensions are common. The defense did not oppose the extension request.