WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 President Donald Trump on Monday pardoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whose 14-year sentence for political corruption charges he commuted during his first term.
The Republican president called the Democratic former governor, who once appeared on Trump鈥檚 reality TV show 鈥淐elebrity Apprentice,鈥 鈥渁 very fine person鈥 and said the conviction and prison sentence 鈥渟houldn't have happened.鈥
鈥淚鈥檝e watched him. He was set up by a lot of bad people, some of the same people I had to deal with,鈥 Trump said at the White House as he signed the pardon.
Blagojevich was convicted in 2011 on charges that included seeking to sell an appointment to then-President Barack Obama鈥檚 old Senate seat and trying to shake down a children鈥檚 hospital. Blagojevich served eight years in prison before Trump cut short his term in 2020.
Blagojevich told reporters gathered outside his Chicago home on Monday that he was thankful.
鈥淚鈥檒l always be profoundly grateful to President Trump for everything he鈥檚 done for me and my family,鈥 Blagojevich said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 everlasting gratitude. He鈥檚 a great guy.鈥
At the time that Trump announced Blagojevich鈥檚 commutation in 2020, Trump had been investigated for his ties to Russia and their attempts to interfere in the 2016 election. The president made clear that he saw similarities between efforts to investigate his own conduct and those that took down Blagojevich.
鈥淚t was a prosecution by the same people 鈥 Comey, Fitzpatrick, the same group,鈥 Trump told reporters. He was referring to Patrick Fitzgerald, the former U.S. attorney who prosecuted Blagojevich and later represented former FBI Director James Comey, whom Trump fired from the agency in May 2017. Comey was working in the private sector during the Blagojevich investigation and indictment.
Former special counsel Robert Mueller, who oversaw the investigation into ties between between Russia and Trump鈥檚 2016 campaign, was FBI director during the investigation into Blagojevich.
Already this term, Trump has granted clemency to more than 1,500 people, all of whom were charged in connection with the at the U.S. Capitol. The clemency, announced on Trump's first day back in office, paved the way for the release from prison of people found guilty of violent attacks on police as well as leaders of far-right extremist groups convicted of failed plots to keep Trump in power after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump expressed some sympathy for Blagojevich when he appeared on 鈥淐elebrity Apprentice鈥 in 2010 before his first corruption trial started. When Trump fired Blagojevich as a contestant, he praised him for how he was fighting his criminal case, telling him, 鈥淵ou have a hell of a lot of guts.鈥
Despite that, Trump on Monday made the puzzling claim that he 鈥渄idn't know him,鈥 but then said he believed Blagojevich appeared on his reality show 鈥渇or a little while.鈥
When asked about reports that he was considering appointing Blagojevich as ambassador to Serbia, Trump responded: 鈥淣o, but I would. He鈥檚 now cleaner than anybody in this room.鈥
Patti Blagojevich spent nearly two years making public pleas for her husband鈥檚 release during Trump鈥檚 first term, appearing often on Fox News Channel, which Trump devotedly watches. She drew parallels between her husband鈥檚 treatment and Trump鈥檚, along with showering Trump with praise.
Trump's decision to commute Blagojevich's sentence was met with bipartisan criticism in Illinois. Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at the time that Trump 鈥渉as abused his pardon power in inexplicable ways to reward his friends and condone corruption, and I deeply believe this pardon sends the wrong message at the wrong time.鈥
According to the Restoration of Rights Project, a pardon typically removes the bar to certain civil rights, including voting, serving on a jury, running for public office, owning a gun and retaining certain licenses.
The state Supreme Court revoked Blagojevich鈥檚 law license, however, an outcome a pardon can鈥檛 reverse, according to the Justice Department鈥檚 Office of the Pardon Attorney.
Blagojevich also carries the burden of impeachment by the state Senate in 2009, an action which, according to the state constitution, bars him from holding any state office. Last year, a claiming that the ban violated his and voters鈥 constitutional rights, but a spokesperson for the state Board of Elections said it鈥檚 unclear whether the pardon would clear the way for him to seek federal office.
Blagojevich was convicted on 18 counts. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago in 2015 tossed out five of the convictions, including ones in which he offered to appoint someone to a high-paying job in the Senate.
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Price reported from New York. Associated Press writer John O鈥機onnor in Springfield, Illinois, contributed to this report.
