President Trump expected to commute Rod Blagojevich's sentence, pardon Bernie Kerik
Sources say Trump will commute former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's sentence and pardon former New York Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik.
President Trump on Tuesday announced he is commuting the prison sentence of former Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted for attempting to sell Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat when he was elected president.
The president has been considering a commutation for Blagojevich since May 2018.
TRUMP TO COMMUTE SENTENCE OF ROD BLAGOJEVICH
Here’s what to know about the former governor’s case:
Blagojevich, who was a contestant on Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice” in 2010, began his 14-year prison sentence in 2012, after being convicted of corruption. Blagojevich’s scheduled release, prior to Trump’s planned intervention, is in 2024. Blagojevich has been serving his sentence at a federal prison in Littleton, Colo.
Blagojevich, who was governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009, was impeached and convicted on corruption charges over allegations that he took bribes for political appointments – including to the open U.S. Senate seat vacated by Obama.
He has consistently argued he did nothing wrong.
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Trump first floated the idea of commuting Blagojevich’s sentence in May 2018, after pardoning conservative filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza. At the time, Trump called Blagojevich’s sentence “really unfair.”
Trump again raised the topic in August, noting that the White House was looking into whether or not a commutation for Blagojevich was possible.
“Rod Blagojevich, the former Governor of Illinois, was sentenced to 14 years in prison. He has served 7 years. Many people have asked that I study the possibility of commuting his sentence in that it was a very severe one,” Trump tweeted in August. “White House staff is continuing the review of this matter."
Fox News' John Roberts and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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