Trump tells reporters he's likely to commute Blagojevich's sentence
President Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Wednesday that he is likely to commute former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's sentence.
Blagojevich has served about half of a 14-year federal prison sentence for corruption that included seeking to sell an appointment to the Senate seat Barack Obama vacated to become president.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One as they flew back to Washington from El Paso, Texas, the president hinted he was open to giving Blagojevich, 62, a break, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
"In the last hour of the flight, POTUS came back to the press cabin for a 45-minute off-the-record conversation. He then said the press could put one part on the record - that he is again considering commuting the sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich," the pool report said.
"I thought he was treated unbelievably unfairly; he was given close to 18 years in prison. And a lot of people thought it was unfair, like a lot of other things - and it was the same gang, the Comey gang and all these sleazebags that did it. And his name is Rod Blagojevich," the president said, misstating Blagojevich's sentence.
"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. I would think that there have been many politicians - I'm not one of them, by the way - that have said a lot worse over the telephone."
The New York Times' Maggic Haberman tweeted that Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, had pushed for a pardon, but aides instead persuaded Trump to agree to commutation.
In June 2018, Trump broached the possibility of freeing Blagojevich, suggesting the one-time "Celebrity Apprentice" contestant was convicted for "being stupid."
Wife Patti Blagojevich has waged a focused campaign - primarily in FOX News appearances and through social media - to appeal to Trump for clemency, the Sun-Times reported.
"His wife I think is fantastic, and I'm thinking about commuting his sentence very strongly. I think it's enough, seven years," Trump said.
The pool report did not mention why Trump wanted to discuss Blagojevich.
Blagojevich is scheduled to be released on May 23, 2024. He currently is serving his sentence in an Englewood, Colorado, facility.
The CEO at the time of Edward Hospital in Naperville, Pam Davis, is credited with helping blow the whistle on Blagojevich. She wore a wire to record conversations with Blagojevich cronies trying to shake her organization down as the hospital tried for years to build a second hospital in Plainfield but was denied repeatedly from the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board.
• Daily Herald news services contributed to this report. Read more from the Chicago Sun-Times at chicago.suntimes.com.