SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (AP):

Taking his defence to the airwaves rather than his impeachment trial, Governor Rod Blagojevich lashed out at his accusers yesterday and revealed he had considered naming Oprah Winfrey to President Barack Obama's vacant US Senate seat.

On the day his trial was to begin in the state Senate in Illinois, Blagojevich was hundreds of miles away in New York, making several television appearances.

"I'm here in New York because I can't get a fair hearing in Illinois, the state Senate in Illinois," Blagojevich said in-between TV appearances. "They've decided, with rules that are fixed, that don't allow me as a governor the right to be able to bring in witnesses to prove that I've done nothing wrong."

The embattled governor told ABC television that the idea of nominating Winfrey to fill the Senate seat came to him as he explored potential candidates for the job, which federal prosecutors allege he tried to sell to the highest bidder.

"She seemed to be someone who would help Barack Obama in a significant way become president," said Blagojevich, who had been discussing a replacement since before the November election. "She was obviously someone with a much broader bully pulpit than other senators."

Blagojevich, 52, worried, though, that the appointment of Winfrey might come across as a gimmick and that the talk-show host was unlikely to accept. In the end, Blagojevich appointed former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to the vacant seat.

Pretty amused

Winfrey, meanwhile, said she didn't know she was under consideration until being told of Blagojevich's comments Monday. She said she would have turned him down.

"I'm pretty amused by the whole thing," Winfrey told 'The Gayle King Show' on Sirius XM Radio. "I think I could be senator too. I'm just not interested."

Illinois law gives the governor sole power to fill a Senate vacancy. Lawmakers had considered stripping Blagojevich of that power after his December 9 arrest on corruption charges, but could not agree on legislation.