Embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich refused to appear at his impeachment trial on Monday, instead making the rounds of various television shows to plead his case that the proceedings are unfair.

At the beginning of the trial, which will determine whether Blagojevich will be removed from office and barred from ever again holding public office in Illinois, the state's Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald asked whether Blagojevich was present.

After a long silence, the judge, who is presiding over the state senate trial, ordered the proceedings to begin as if Blagojevich had entered a plea of not guilty.

"This is a solemn and serious business we're about to engage in," Fitzgerald told the senate chambers.

Blagojevich is on trial over allegations he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama for personal gain.

The senators are expected to hear recordings that allegedly reveal the governor talking about signing legislation in exchange for campaign contributions.

Television appearance

Hours before the trial began, Blagojevich was a guest on ABC's Good Morning America, one of many shows he appeared on instead of attending the first day of his impeachment trial.

He said he chose to speak to the public instead of defending himself before the senators, who he said are determined to find him guilty.

"The fix is in," he said.

He also reiterated his declaration of innocence and criticized the impeachment trial, calling it unconstitutional and saying it denies him the right to call witnesses to defend himself

Blagojevich also revealed that he had considered appointing popular talk show host Oprah Winfrey to the Senate seat.

"[Oprah] seemed to be someone who had helped Barack Obama in a significant way to become president. She was obviously someone with a much broader bully pulpit than a lot of senators," Blagojevich told host Diane Sawyer.

Though Blagojevich acknowledges Winfrey was unlikely to accept the seat, he said he considered how to offer it in a way that didn't "look like a gimmick" or embarrass her.

In the end, Blagojevich appointed former Illinois attorney general Roland Burris to the seat left vacant by Obama after he was elected U.S. president.

Winfrey confirmed on Monday that she would have turned Blagojevich down.

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

The Democratic governor was on a media blitz Monday that included appearances on ABC's The View, NBC's Today show and, later, CNN's Larry King Live.

With files from the Associated Press