In a series of controversial pardons, US President Donald Trump yesterday shortened the prison sentence for former Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich. The ex-Illinois governor was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2011 for selling Barack Obama’s Senate seat after his election as US President – he was already out of jail.
Trump: „He seemed a very good person“
„He has spent eight years in prison, which is a long time,“ Trump commented on his decision. „I don’t know him very well.“ He met Blagojevich once or twice. „He seemed like a very good person,“ said the US president.
Trump released Blagojevich’s decision but did not overturn the sentence. The ex-governor left the Colorado state prison today.
Blagojevich was on Trump’s “The Apprentice”
Blagojevich was arrested as governor in December 2008 but was released on bail for the time being. After weeks of quarreling, he was removed from office at the end of January 2009 and charged a few months later. While on bail, Blagojevich appeared on several reality TV shows, including „The Apprentice,“ Trump’s reality show.
Trump’s decision to release Blagojevich comes two days before the sentence for the political adviser Roger Stone, who was convicted of the Russian affair, comes. The move raised fears that Trump would exercise his power in much more controversial cases.
Stone is „treated unfairly“ according to Trump
Stone was found guilty in November of interfering with US Congress investigations into the alleged covert Russian interference in Trump’s favor in the 2016 election campaign. Trump has criticized Stone’s case several times, most recently interfering in the work of the Department of Justice on Twitter, which prompted a milder sentence against Stone.
When asked by reporters whether he was considering Stone’s pardon, Trump said he hadn’t thought about it yet. „But I think he will be treated unfairly,“ added the president.
Trump pardoned ten people, including a former New York police chief jailed for tax fraud, the former San Francisco 49ers football team owner, and a well-known investor who pleaded guilty to securities and tax fraud in 1990.
