CHICAGO _ President Donald Trump commuted the 14-year sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, springing him from prison more than four years early and writing a stunning final chapter to one of the state's most notorious corruption cases.
The controversial move comes after he granted a full pardon to former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. on Tuesday and more than a year after Trump first revealed he was considering commuting Blagojevich's sentence.
"Yes, we commuted the sentence of Rod Blagojevich," Trump said in Maryland on Tuesday. "He served eight years in jail, a long time. He seems like a very nice person, don't know him."
Trump said Blagojevich's daughters have not seen their father outside of prison, and he thought of them as he made his decision.
"He'll be able to go back home with his family after serving eight years in jail, that was a tremendously powerful, ridiculous sentence in my opinion."
Throughout his first term, Trump had repeatedly dangled the suggestion of freeing Blagojevich, who appeared briefly on the president's former "Celebrity Apprentice" show. Trump often cited what he characterized as the former Democratic governor's harsh sentence while not mentioning the details that sent him to prison _ including trying to sell the Senate seat of then President-elect Barack Obama for personal or political enrichment.
He last raised the prospect in August, when he told reporters aboard Air Force One that he was "very strongly" considering issuing a commutation to Blagojevich, who was scheduled to be released from federal prison in 2024.
"I thought he was treated unbelievably unfairly," Trump said.
Blagojevich served as governor from 2003, was reelected in 2006 despite a swirl of federal investigations, and was impeached and removed from office in 2009.
He was convicted in December 2011 and sentenced to 14 years on corruption charges. In addition to the proposed sale of Obama's Senate seat, Blagojevich also was convicted of trying to shake down executives from a children's hospital and the horse racing industry for campaign contributions in exchange for official acts in office.
In commuting his sentence four years early, Trump added another chapter to one of the state's most notorious corruption cases that led to the first impeachment of a governor in Illinois' scandal-tarred history.
Trump essentially became Blagojevich's last hope for any reprieve after the U.S. Supreme Court in April 2018 declined to take up the ex-governor's appeal.
Within weeks, Blagojevich and his legal team embarked on a calculated public relations campaign attacking the ex-governor's conviction as unjust and politically motivated.
On Memorial Day 2018, The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed piece by Blagojevich under the headline "I'm in Prison for Practicing Politics." It began by saying that the "rule of law is under assault in America."
Blagojevich's legal team filed a formal request for executive clemency with the U.S. Department of Justice in June 2018.
Meanwhile, Patti Blagojevich made repeated appearances on national cable news _ most notably Fox News, Trump's favorite _ to try to link her husband's prosecution to the investigation by then-special counsel Robert Mueller into whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 presidential election.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, issued a statement Tuesday criticizing the move.
"Illinoisans have endured far too much corruption, and we must send a message to politicians that corrupt practices will no longer be tolerated," the statement read. "President Trump has abused his pardon power in inexplicable ways to reward his friends and condone corruption, and I deeply believe this pardon sends the wrong message at the wrong time. I'm committed to continuing to take clear and decisive steps this spring to prevent politicians from using their offices for personal gain, and I will continue to approach this work with that firm conviction."
Also issuing a statement were the attorneys who made up the team of prosecutors who handled the Blagojevich trials in U.S. District Court in Chicago. That group included former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, and his former assistants Reid Schar, Chris Niewoehner and Carrie Hamilton, who is now a judge.
"The law and extensive facts underlying Mr. Blagojevich's conviction were reviewed by independent judges on an appellate court and by the Supreme Court of the United States. These courts affirmed Mr. Blagojevich's conviction and sentence, and the appellate court described the evidence against him as 'overwhelming,'" the statement read.
"Extortion by a public official is a very serious crime, routinely prosecuted throughout the United States whenever, as here, it can be detected and proven. That has to be the case in America: a justice system must hold public officials accountable for corruption. It would be unfair to their victims and the public to do otherwise."
Sam Adam Jr., Blagojevich's lead defense lawyer at his first trial, said he couldn't be happier for the former governor Tuesday.
"I'm ecstatic for the family, for those two girls," Adam said. "For President Trump to do this, it unites a family. Fourteen years was simply too long and it's taken a lot for this to happen."
In a statement following Trump's announcement, the White House noted that Democrats such as Illinois' senior senator, Dick Durbin, and veteran U.S. Reps. Bobby Rush and Danny Davis, along with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, had backed a shortened prison sentence for Blagojevich.
"During his confinement, Mr. Blagojevich has demonstrated exemplary character, devoting himself to improving the lives of his fellow prisoners," the White House said.
"He tutors and teaches GED classes, mentors prisoners regarding personal and professional development, and speaks to them about their civic duties. Notwithstanding his lengthy sentence, Mr. Blagojevich also counsels inmates to believe in the justice system and to use their time in prison for self-improvement. His message has been to 'keep faith, overcome fear, and never give up.'"
Illinois' Republican congressional delegation had twice weighed in strongly against a commutation of Blagojevich's sentence, first in June 2018 and again in August 2019. On Tuesday, the five-member delegation sent out a joint statement saying they were "disappointed" by Trump's decision and calling Blagojevich "the face of public corruption in Illinois."
"As our state continues to grapple with political corruption, we shouldn't let those who breached the public trust off the hook," said the statement from Adam Kinzinger of Channahon, Darin LaHood of Dunlap, John Shimkus of Collinsville, Rodney Davis of Taylorville and Mike Bost of Murphysboro. "History will not judge Rod Blagojevich well."
In speaking previously about Blagojevich, Trump sought to tie the former governor to figures in the Justice Department that the president has criticized for investigations of the administration.
In August, Trump said of Blagojevich's prosecution, "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."
The president was referring to former FBI Director James Comey, a frequent Trump target who he contends sought to politicize the nation's top law enforcement agency in the 2016 election in which Trump faced Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. After taking office, the president fired Comey amid the investigation into Russia's interference in the election and whether the Trump campaign was involved.
The president's comments mirrored what Patti Blagojevich has said in not-so-veiled attempts to link her husband's prosecution to some of Trump's perceived political enemies.
In reality, Comey was in private practice from 2005 to 2013 _ virtually the entire time Blagojevich was investigated and prosecuted. And Blagojevich's prosecution was launched by a Justice Department under the George W. Bush White House.
The move disregards the political concerns of top elected Republicans in Illinois in a critical election year.
Republicans in the state had previously warned Trump against acting to free Blagojevich, already facing a serious disadvantage in Illinois in the presidential race, having lost the governor's mansion and the wealth of Bruce Rauner in 2018.
Trump lost Illinois to Clinton by 17 percentage points in 2016, and two congressional seats in the traditionally Republican suburban and exurban region shifted to Democrats in 2018. That put Democrats with a 13-5 advantage over Republicans in the state's congressional delegation.
"It's important that we take a strong stand against pay-to-play politics, especially in Illinois where four of our last eight governors have gone to federal prison for public corruption," the Republican congressmen said in a statement following Trump's August remarks.
"Commuting the sentence of Rod Blagojevich, who has a clear and documented record of egregious corruption, sets a dangerous precedent and goes against the trust voters place in elected officials. We stand by our letter and urge the president to not commute Rod Blagojevich's sentence," it said.
As the day passed, the scene in front of Blagojevich's home on the North Side grew more chaotic. News reporters swarmed the house, television trucks and cars crowded the streets, and Chicago police officers routinely circled the neighborhood.
A helicopter hovered overhead. Blagojevich's family dog barked at the reporters outside the home. Some people yelled at the media as they drove by, while others slowed down, trying to take photos on their phones.
Shortly after 2 p.m., one Chicago man came to show his support for Blagojevich. Ziff Sistrunk put letter in Blagojevich's mailbox after no one answered the door.
He then spoke briefly to the media before hanging a sign on the railing in front of Blagojevich's house that read, "Thank you, Mr. President."
