Impeached Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich vowed on Friday to fight every step of the way, Xinhua reported.
At a news conference held in downtown Chicago hours after he was impeached by the Illinois House, Blagojevich said he is confident that at the end, he will be properly exonerated.
Blagojevich, who is accused of trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama, said he wasn't surprised by the impeachment vote.
Having become the first governor in Illinois history to be impeached, Blagojevich sought to portray himself as a governor fighting to expand health care and the availability of affordable prescription drugs against an Illinois House that stood in the way.
"The House is impeaching me for that? Is that an impeachable offense?" Blagojevich asked.
The House impeached Blagojevich on Friday on a wide array of offenses, including criminal corruption and wasting taxpayers' money.
The Illinois Senate is scheduled to convene a trial in little more than two weeks, but Blagojevich did not address that issue. He would continue to govern.