Trump Signs Pardon for Ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich
“He’s now cleaner than anybody in this room. He got a pardon.”
President Donald Trump signed a full unconditional pardon for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Blagojevich is one of many governors from my home state of Illinois who landed in jail. I don’t know how the others slipped through the cracks.
I actually agree with Trump that Blagojevich was set up. He was totally their fall guy.
However, Blagojevich is not a very fine person. No politician from Illinois is a fine person. You won’t ever catch me voting for a politician from Illinois even if the person is a libertarian!
I know it’s Wikipedia, but it has the entire story of Blagojevich’s corruption story: Rod Blagojevich corruption charges. It started before he got caught on tape trying to sell former President Barack Obama’s senate seat.
From the video:
MILLER: Next, we have a full and unconditional pardon for former governor Rob Blagojevich of the state of Illinois.
TRUMP: Good. It’s my honor to do it. I’ve watched him. He was set up by a lot of bad people. Some of the same people that I had to deal with. He wasn’t quite as successful, but he had somebody that saw what was going on. I didn’t know him other, that I believe…
He was on The Apprentice for a little while. He was just a very nice person. He had a fantastic wife. She fought like hell to get him out.
He was given a sentence of, like, 18 years. And there was a sort of a terrible injustice. They just were after him. They go after a lot of people. These are bad people on the other side.
So I think he’s just a very fine person, and this shouldn’t have happened, and it shouldn’t have happened to him. And let him have a normal life and let him go out and do what he has to do.
So I’m signing this is as a full pardon…Rod Blagojevich.
REPORTER: Mr. President, are you considering him for Ambassador to Serbia?
TRUMP: No, but I would. He’s now cleaner than anybody in this room. He got a pardon. He’s cleaner than anybody in the room.
BREAKING: Trump signs a full an unconditional pardon for Rod Blagojevich, former Illinois Governor. "He was set up!"
REPORTER: "Are you considering him for ambassador to Serbia?"
TRUMP: "No, but I would. He's now cleaner than anyone in this room. He got a pardon." LMAO!
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Comments
This is betrayal. Mr. Blagovich deserved to die in jail.
Seems harsh. He had received 18 years for an attempted breach of trust crime. Sometimes “first murders “ in Chicago were drawing just a few years.
At no time has “Blago” ever been contrite.
The only thing he is sorry for is getting caught – because “Everyone was doing it”.
I stand by what I said.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2019/08/09/column-mr-president-leave-rod-blagojevich-where-he-belongs-in-prison/
Naw, the guy who set him up, and tried to fundamentally transform America should GO to jail though.
Does anyone know if Ray Epps benefited from Trump initial sweeping pardon of J6ers? It’s possible that because of the incredible sweetheart deal Epps received, he may not even needed the pardon because his Biden DoJ deal may have made him eligible for a diversion program where his record is essentially expunged after a modest probationary period.
Trump’s pardon of J6’s only affected those actually convicted – no pre-emptive pardons like senile Joe did for his family and cronies.
Trump also ordered DOJ to drop all prosecutions in progress.
Epps was never convicted or even charged with anything at all (which is really all you need to know to grasp that he was 100% an FBI paid agitator) so, no, I’d think that none of what Trump did benefited Epps at all.
He can and should be prosecuted.
That’s not correct. He was prosecuted on one count of ‘disorderly conduct…’
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/09/us/politics/ray-epps-sentenced-january-6.html
…he may have been the only J6er who was allowed to plead to a single count of disorderly conduct, the lowest level misdemeanor available in federal law. What’s unclear from any of the reporting is what the details of the plea were, only that he was sentenced to ‘probation.’ Because he was ‘prosecuted,’ the government can’t reindict for the same incident. He’s effectively been immunized. But, without a pardon (or access to a diversion program), the ‘conviction’ would remain on his record absent a pardon.
“He’s now cleaner than anybody in this room. He got a pardon. He’s cleaner than anybody in the room.”
Reminds me of the old joke where one politician accuses his opponent of having spent years in e mental hospital. The other replies, “I have in my hand an official document certifying that I am sane. Where’s yours?”
Reminds me of 1972 Presidential Campaign. The Nixon Campaign (with Spiro Agnew as VP Candidate)had done a lot of dirt digging, and accused McGovern’s VP Candidate Thomas Eagleton, who had suffered depression and received shock treatment, of being crazy and thus unsuited for office. The McGovern Campaign had a quick comeback and said:” OK, but at least our candidate has received treatment for his problems”. ( subsequently Eagleton withdrew his candidacy and Agnew resigned as VP over a scandal).
I don’t understand. He was indeed guilty. Perhaps a commutation of his sentence if it was too severe for the offense, but a pardon? No, dammit Donald, NO!
Didn’t Trump commute his sentence during the first term?
yes, he did
Yes, from 14 years to 8, so he’s already out.
In contrast, many murderers in Illinois don’t serve 8.
Illinois govts, as a rule, are all famously corrupt.
He’s the only one in modern times to be arrested.
Apparently selling Obama’s empty office made someone powerful angry.
The fact that his party affiliation, if it’s mentioned at all, is usually buried in para 2 or later of any story, never in the headline, is a big clue that he’s actually a (D). He’s however someone Trump knew personally before Trump became the Democratic AntiChrist and selective prosecution is one of T’s triggers at this point, so a nothing burger pardon here is T’s way of saying FU to the DOJ I believe.
George Ryan (R) was convicted on federal racketeering charges, and served time in prison.
I see you’re right, in fact supposedly 4 out of the last 10 governors apparently went to prison. In fact, it’s an equal opportunity job, outside of Chicago there’s enuf (R) voters that both parties have a shot at the job. Apparently there’s a tradition of running as a reformer and then cashing for yourself when it’s your turn.
Ryan actually got people killed. One of the truckers he gave an undeserved drivers license to totaled a mini-van with a family inside it. Ryan only got half the sentence Blago received basically for being a moron who thought he could play in the big leagues.
He’s already served his commuted sentence.
At this point a pardon is just a FU to the DOJ that prosecuted none of the last dozen corrupt Illinois governors except the one that PO’d Obama by selling his empty seat.
Rod might not be a good guy in every aspect, but I’m perfectly fine with Trump pardoning anyone who was railroaded.
I’ll be even happier when we start prosecuting the guilty from the other side.
Funny that Trump still hasn’t pardoned the 14 J6ers that he only gave commutations to in his first round of pardons despite the fact that some here castigated me to wait and told me Trump would eventually get around to pardoning them.
So why the heck hasn’t he done so, Trump’s had enough time to do so.
I am curious what, in light of commutations, makes a pardon urgent?
The fourteen that only got their sentences commuted to “time served” still have felony federal criminal records and must face the consequences of having such a record in their daily lives. Something the rest of the tried and convicted J6ers don’t have to face as pardons wipe the slate clean for them.
I was informed that I should give Trump a “few days” to get around to it. Well, it’s been over a month at this point and he still hasn’t done so. What did they do to provoke Trump’s ire to prevent him from pardoning them.
I guess the cases matter? What exactly did they do? We don’t live in a world where it’s likely everyone at J6 not on the dole was a perfect victim scapegoat.
I would guess that 4+ years of being in the cross-hairs of the dem lawfare machine and getting shot have made Trump a bit more empathetic and compassionate.
Who killed Obama’s choir master?
Well, he has appeared numerous times on Fox, so he may be eligible for a cabinet post.
Assuming Rod’s conviction is correct law, Earl Warren’s trade to his chief justice spot should have sent Warren to prison.
The only thing Rod was guilty of was just normal political deals.
Blago may not be a paragon of virtue, but he is candid:
“Blagojevich told Newsmax TV’s “John Bachman Now” that Democratic stronghold cities changing vote counts overnight, and controlling polling places is a “time-honored tradition.” He went on to say that Democrats “stealing the presidency” is “incredibly dangerous to our democracy.”
“If the question is are the Democrats stealing votes in Philadelphia, my answer is, ‘Is the Pope Catholic?’ It’s a time-honored tradition,” Blagojevich emphasized. “Big Democrat-controlled cities like Chicago, my hometown, Philadelphia, to do precisely what they’re doing now I’ve never seen such a magnitude because this I think is an indication of just how widespread it is, how deep it is. And I don’t think it’s just confined to Philadelphia. My instincts, again coming out of Chicago Democratic politics, my instincts tell me it’s going on in Atlanta, it’s going on in Detroit, it’s going on in Milwaukee, it’s going on in Las Vegas. It’s like what Justice Powell said about pornography: You can’t define it, but you know when you see it. And coming out of the Democratic Chicago political establishment, I know how they operate. They control polling places, they stop votes when their candidate’s behind, and then in the wee hours of the morning, in the dark of night, the stealing starts.”
Here’s the problem.
He shouldn’t need the pardon.
I don’t like this business of justice being subject to the current king’s whims.
In 12 years when the Dems potentially come back from the wilderness we’ll be stuck with whether Chelsea Clinton believes in the innocence. Not exactly what the founders had in mind.