It takes a lot to make expletive-ridden Richard Nixon seem well spoken. But Rod Blagojevich, the indicted governor of Illinois, has been giving the former president a run for his money.

Mr Blagojevich denied on Monday he had ever said or been “interested” in anything unlawful. But to judge from the criminal complaint filed against him on Tuesday, his alleged attempts to fill president-elect Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat in exchange for favours could have been lifted wholesale from a mafia B movie, or the notorious Nixon White House tapes.