‘We're Looking at It:' Trump Says Administration Still Weighing Blagojevich Commutation
President Donald Trump is again speaking out about a potential commutation of the prison sentence of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, saying that his administration is still “strongly” considering it.
In a press availability prior to a speech in New Hampshire Thursday night, the president said that he believes Blagojevich was “harshly sentenced,” and that he wanted to gauge the feelings of members of both parties about a possible commutation of the disgraced governor’s sentence.
“We’re looking at it,” he said. “I feel very badly. I think he was very harshly sentenced, but we’re looking at it very strongly. People feel very strongly about that. I floated it and I wanted to see where the Democrats stood, where the Republicans stood. People feel very strongly about Rod Blagojevich’s sentence. He’s been in there for seven and a half years. That’s a long time and what he did was terrible, but it’s a long time.”
Blagojevich has served more than seven years of a 14-year prison sentence after he was convicted of trying to sell the Senate seat of then-President-Elect Barack Obama. The former governor has gone through numerous potential appeals and his wife Patti has appealed directly to the president in interviews on Fox News.
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Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (L) addresses the media while wife Patti Blagojevich holds back tears at the Dirksen Federal Building December 7, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison after he was found guilty of 17 public corruption charges.
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Calling it a “corruption crime spree,” U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald announced that he would pursue corruption charges against Blagojevich after the governor was caught on court-authorized wire taps trying to solicit contributions and other favors in exchange for the Senate seat of then president-elect Barack Obama.
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<a href="https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/archive/Bye-Bye-Blago-Senate-Removes-Him-From-Office.html" In a unanimous 59-0 vote, the Illinois Senate voted to remove Blagojevich from office and installed Pat Quinn as the state’s 41st governor.
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The former governor was found guilty on one count of making false statements, but a mistrial was declared on 23 other counts in the indictment against him.
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In the governor’s re-trial, he was found guilty on 17 counts, including wire fraud and attempted extortion.
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The former governor’s sentence came down about six months later, when he was sentenced to 14 years in a federal prison.
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After years of legal wrangling and appeals, Blagojevich reported to a federal prison in Colorado to begin serving a 14-year sentence.
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A judge upheld Blagojevich’s sentence, saying that the “fault lies with the governor and no one else” for his punishment.
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On his final full day in office, the former president issued numerous commutations and pardons, but did not include the former Illinois governor who was convicted of trying to benefit from his ability to appoint a successor to Obama's Senate seat.
“I take it one day at a time,” the former governor told Phil Rogers, saying that his prime focus after five years in prison was staying strong for his two daughters.
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“Certiorari denied.” With two simple words, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of the former governor’s conviction and sentence.
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“Plenty of other politicians could have said a lot worse,” the president told reporters aboard Air Force One as he revealed he was considering “curtailing” the sentence of the former governor. The news came on the same day the president pardoned filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza, and also said he was considering a pardon of TV personality Martha Stewart.
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President Donald Trump made his strongest statement yet on the matter, telling reporters aboard Air Force One that he is seriously considering commuting the former governor’s sentence. "I'm thinking about commuting his sentence very strongly," the president told reporters. "He's been in jail for seven years over a phone call where nothing happens, over a phone call which he shouldn't have said what he said, but it was braggadocio, you would say."
The possibility of a commutation has drawn criticism from members of both political parties, with numerous prominent Democrats and Republicans opposing the move. Even still, others are in support of ending the former governor’s sentence, including the Reverend Jesse Jackson and Representative Bobby Rush.
While all of the commutation drama is swirling, the state of Illinois is looking to prevent Blagojevich from practicing law, as the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission filed a complaint seeking to make the indefinite suspension of his law license permanent.
