On Tuesday, President Donald Trump pardoned and granted clemency to 11 people who were found guilty of corruption, tax fraud, lying to the Whitehouse and financial crimes. his supporters made appeals in Fox News. One of the people pardoned was Rod Blagojevich.
Back in 2009, Blagojevich was found to be selling off the vacant Senate seat of Obama, and such phone calls were wiretapped, as he was looking for the highest bidder, “I’ve got this thing, and it’s fucking golden. I’m just not giving it up for fuckin’ nothing. I’m not going to do it. And, and I can always use it. I can parachute me there.”
This infamous wiretapped call was about the trade he was going to have in return for the appointment of the seat.
Also pardoned was former New York Police commissioner Bernard Kerik. He was nominated to the Department of Homeland Security Leader while George Bush was still the president.
He withdrew his name when some questions about the immigration status of his household employees came up in the air.
Also, Kerik pleaded guilty for the tax fraud felony charges and for lying to officials in the white house while working his way up to the DHS.
Another pardoned financier, Michael Milken, was known for “junk bonds” and pleaded guilty for six felony counts for illegal securities trading.
Meanwhile, executive grants of clemency were given to Edward DeBartolo Jr., Ariel Friedler, Paul Pogue, David Safavian, and Angela Stanton.
Aside from the administrative grants of clemency from the President, Tynice Nichole Hall, Crystal Munoz and Judith Negron commuted their sentences.
From all these, the Blagojevich case seems to be the highest-profile. His example and records are linked to corruption. Since March 15, 2012, he has been in Englewood Federal Correctional Institution for serving his time.
The decision of the president didn’t come as a shock. He said that he has his eyes on Blagojevich’s case.
In August last year, Trump said that he was considering commuting’s Blagojevich’s sentences as he believes that he is “treated unbelievably unfairly”.
He explained, “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 a 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.”
On Tuesday, the president even said that Blagojevich’s sentence was “ridiculous” for the 14-year sentence.
These two have known each other earlier because Blagojevich has been part of the Season 9 of The Celebrity Apprentice in 2010, a former reality tv show of Trump.
During that time, Trump has seen the potential of the former governor. He predicted that Blagojevich would be one of those breakout stars.
In 2011, Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to prison. As a governor of Illinois, he had the responsibility to put select and appoint a successor for whatever seat that was vacant.
According to one of the judges’ opinion, “The evidence, much of it from Blagojevich’s mouth, is overwhelming.”
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