The Washington Post - 20.02.2020

thursday, february 20 , 2020. the washington post eZ re A

BY SUSAN BERGER

AND JOHN WAGNER

CHICAGO — An unrepentant Rod
Blagojevich expressed “everlast-
ing gratitude” Wednesday to
President Trump for commuting
his 14-year prison sentence and
declared himself “a freed political
prisoner” a s he spoke to reporters
outside his home in Chicago.
“From the beginning to the
end, this was persecution mas-
querading as prosecution,” the
former Democratic governor of
Illinois said of his legal ordeal,
which resulted in a conviction on
corruption charges in 2011 relat-
ed to trying to sell President
Barack Obama’s former Senate
seat, among other campaign fi-
nance violations.
Blagojevich, who had been
serving time in a federal correc-
tional facility in Colorado, ap-
peared alongside his wife and two
daughters at a n ews conference in
which he frequently dabbed his
chin, explaining that he was
bleeding from his first “normal”
shave in about eight years.
“We want to express our most
profound and everlasting grati-
tude to President Trump,”
Blagojevich said, suggesting that
the Republican president had
nothing to gain politically by
granting clemency to a Democrat.
Blagojevich, who quoted scrip-
ture and Martin Luther King Jr. at
various points, described himself
as a “Trumpocrat” and said he
would vote for Trump if he can —
seemingly uncertain as to wheth-
er his time in prison would per-
mit that.
Blagojevich was greeted by
cheers of “Welcome home, gover-
nor!” and “love you.” A banner
ran below the family’s front
porch, signed by neighbors, say-
ing, “Thank you Mr. President.”
Reporters and TV cameras sur-
rounded the house, and helicop-
ters could be overheard on a
24-degree, sunny day.
Blagojevich’s wife, Patti, apolo-
gized for his tardiness, blaming it
on her newly returned husband
not being able to find his socks.
Trump on Tuesday pardoned
or commuted the sentences of
seven convicted white-collar
criminals at the center of federal
anti-corruption and tax fraud
cases spanning decades, and an
additional four women whose
cases were not as well known.
Others to benefit from the presi-
dent’s clemency powers included
convicted junk bond king Mi-
chael Milken and former New

York police commissioner Ber-

nard Kerik.

Blagojevich was caught on FBI

wiretaps talking about trying to

sell Obama’s vacated Senate seat,

saying it was a “valuable thing”

and “you don’t just give it away

for nothing.”

After he was indicted, but

b efore he was convicted,

Blagojevich was a contestant on

Trump’s NBC reality show, “Ce-

lebrity Apprentice” in 2010.

Trump praised Blagojevich at the

time for having “a lot of guts” to

appear on the program.

Trump has used his sweeping

clemency powers largely on be-

half of high-profile offenders who

have connections to him or his

supporters.

But Trump had wavered

over whether to commute

Blagojevich’s sentence because

I llinois Republicans in Congress

were very much against it. He

first mentioned it as a possibility

in 2018, saying he believed the

punishment was excessive.

He even polled a group of

donors last year at Chicago fund-

raiser on whether he should grant

Blagojevich clemency, people fa-

miliar with the event said.

If not for Trump’s i ntervention,

Blagojevich was not set to be

released until 202 4. Instead, he

went home Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, Blagojevich

said he plans to draw upon his

experiences to help people who

have been wrongly incarcerated

or given unduly harsh sentences.

“It is a broken criminal justice

system, and it has been for a long

time,” Blagojevich said, crediting

Trump with doing more to fix it

than other presidents.

Blagojevich, at times emotion-

al, talked about his “long and

unhappy journey” and the toll it

took on his family.

His oldest daughter, Amy, now

23, graduated high school, at-

tended Northwestern University

and got a master’s degree in

marketing while he was gone. His

youngest daughter, Annie, was

8 when he left a nd is now driving,

he said.

Blagojevich described his first

prison cell as “cold and dark...

like a tomb.” He said he was

confined to 6-by-12-foot space in

which he slept on the top bed of

bunk beds. He recalled looking

out a small window at night and

thinking of his wife and children,

saying to himself, “One day I will

make it back to you.”

As Blagojevich spoke, Trump

took to Twitter, writing: “He

served 8 years in prison, with

many remaining. He paid a big

price.”

[email protected]

Wagner reported from Washington.

colby Itkowitz contributed to this

report.

Blagojevich says

he’s a ‘Trumpocrat’

Also declares himself

‘a freed political prisoner’

after sentence commuted

tannen Maury/ePa-eFe/shutterstock

Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich autographs an image of himself after speaking Wednesday at his Chicago home for the first time

since his release from federal prison. He served about eight years of a 14-year federal prison sentence after being convicted of corruption.

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