President Trump pardons Rod Blagojevich five years after commuting his sentence

President Trump pardoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Monday, commuting his 14-year sentence for political corruption during his first term.

The Republican president labeled the Democratic former governor, who appeared on “Celebrity Apprentice,” “a very fine person” and asserted that the conviction and prison sentence “shouldn’t have happened," as Axios reported.

“I’ve watched him. He was set up by a lot of bad people, some of the same people I had to deal with,” Trump said at the White House as he signed the pardon.

Blagojevich was convicted in 2011 of trying to rip off a children's hospital and selling an appointment to then-President Barack Obama's Senate seat. Trump released Blagojevich in 2020 after eight years in prison.

Blagojevich's response

On Monday, Blagojevich told reporters who had assembled outside his Chicago residence that he was grateful.

“I’ll always be profoundly grateful to President Trump for everything he’s done for me and my family,” Blagojevich said. “It’s everlasting gratitude. He’s a great guy.”

In 2020, Trump was under investigation for his connections to Russia and their involvement in the 2016 election at the time of his announcement of Blagojevich's commutation.

The president expressed his belief that there were similarities between the investigations into his own actions and those that dismantled Blagojevich.

The Investigation

The FBI director during the investigation into Blagojevich was former special counsel Robert Mueller, who supervised the investigation into the ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 campaign.

Donald Trump has already granted clemency to over 1,500 individuals this term. All of these individuals were accused in connection with the riot that occurred on January 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol.

Trump expressed some sympathy for Blagojevich during his appearance on "Celebrity Apprentice" in 2010, prior to the start of his initial corruption prosecution.

Trump expressed his admiration for Blagojevich's determination in pursuing his criminal case when he terminated him as a contestant, stating, “You have a hell of a lot of guts.”