Feb 10, 2025 - Politics & Policy

Scoop: Trump planning to pardon Rod Blagojevich

Alex Isenstadt

Blagojevich between people with MAGA hats — Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

President Donald Trump is expected to pardon former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, according to a person familiar with the plans.

Blagojevich served eight years in prison on charges stemming from his effort to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat after Obama won the 2008 presidential election, until Trump commuted his 14-year sentence in 2020.

Why it matters: Trump and Blagojevich have a relationship dating back to 2010, when the former governor appeared on the Trump-hosted "Celebrity Apprentice" after being impeached and removed from office.

Blagojevich, who was a Democrat while in office, supported Trump in the 2024 election and attended the Republican National Convention.
The former governor defended Trump after Trump was indicted in the New York hush money case and likened Trump's legal problems to his own.
"I love Trump more today than ever!" Blagojevich said on social media at the time. "When you've lived through it yourself you recognize when they do it to someone else."

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Scoop: Trump planning to pardon Rod Blagojevich

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