The criminal defense attorney for Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich will not be representing him in his upcoming impeachment trial. Blagojevich’s lead lawyer is well-known Chicago defense attorney Ed Genson.

He represented the governor in the recent impeachment hearings in Springfield. And Genson was expected to represent Blagojevich at the upcoming impeachment trial, which is set to start January 26th in the Illinois state senate.

Now there’s word that will not be the case.

Genson is expected to continue to represent Blagojevich in the criminal proceedings against him, but will no longer represent him in the impeachment process.

Blagojevich’s legal team has objected to the way lawmakers have handled those proceedings.

They’ve complained that the governor has not received due process, and that lawmakers should not be considering the unproven criminal allegations against Blagojevich. Legislators have said the impeachment proceeding are political not a criminal, and operate by different guidelines.