Trump Pardons Ex-Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich Jailed For Corruption

US President Donald Trump on Monday granted a full pardon to Rod Blagojevich, a former Illinois governor who had been convicted of corruption and whose jail sentence Trump had previously commuted five years ago during his first term.

Blagojevich, a Democrat, was removed from office in 2009 and later convicted of attempting to sell the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama after he won the US presidency in 2008.

Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump defended his decision to pardon Blagojevich, describing the prosecution as unjust.

“It was sort of a terrible injustice. They just went after him, they go after a lot of people. These are bad people on the other side,” Trump told reporters as he signed the pardon.

“I think he’s a very fine person, and this shouldn’t have happened,” he added.

Blagojevich For US Ambassador To Serbia?

When asked whether he was considering appointing Blagojevich as US ambassador to Serbia, as some media reports had suggested, Trump responded: “No, but I would. He’s now cleaner than anybody in this room.”

Back in 2020, Trump was vague about his reasoning for freeing Blagojevich, who had been sentenced to 14 years in prison.

The president noted that he had previously interacted with Blagojevich on the reality TV show The Apprentice and remarked that he “seemed like a very nice person,” but also admitted: “I don’t know him very well.”

‘Many Disagree With The Sentence’

“He served eight years in jail. He has a long time to go. Many people disagree with the sentence,” Trump told reporters at the time.

Trump has made extensive use of the presidential power to issue pardons since returning to the White House on January 20.

On the evening of his inauguration, he pardoned around 1,500 people accused of involvement in the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot, when supporters stormed Congress in an attempt to overturn his election loss to Joe Biden.

In addition, Trump has granted clemency to two dozen anti-abortion protesters and Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road online marketplace that facilitated millions of dollars in drug sales.