Trump 'Likely' To Commute Blagojevich Sentence: NYT Correspondent

Rod Blagojevich
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(WBBM NEWSRADIO/AP) – Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich appears close to having his federal prison sentence commuted by President Trump, the New York Times’ White House correspondent tweeted Wednesday evening.

Blagojevich is in the middle of serving a 14-year prison sentence for political corruption.

Trump has long said he’d consider using his presidential powers to release Blagojevich from prison early. Blagojevich, after lawmakers removed him from office in 2009, was a contestant on Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice” show.

On Wednesday, Trump signaled to pool reporters aboard Air Force One that he is “likely” to commute Blagojevich’s sentence, Maggie Haberman reported on Twitter. “I thought he was treated unbelievably fairly,” she quoted Trump as saying. 

“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."

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) August 8, 2019

Haberman reported on Twitter that Trump would do a commutation, rather than a slate-clearing pardon, for Blagojevich.

Trump said he's taking into consideration Blagojevich's wife and children and what was, in his view, mere braggadocio.

The ex-governor's wife, Patti, tweeted Thursday that she and her family are "very hopeful" the president will follow through and release Rod Blagojevich. 

Blagojevich entered federal prison in 2012.