After President Donald Trump commuted his sentence, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) shared his “everlasting gratitude.”
Speaking to reporters after he was released from prison, Blagojevich thanked Trump for commuting his sentence while noting that the president is a Republican and he was a Democratic governor.
“I express our most profound and everlasting gratitude to President Trump for doing what he did. He didn’t have to do this. He’s a Republican president. I was a Democratic governor, and my fellow Democrats don’t treat him very good.”
Watch the video below:
https://twitter.com/TinaAguayotv/status/1229985826026557440
Additionally, Blagojevich said he is a “big fan” of Trump and declared himself a “Trumpocrat.”
“[Trump’s] got obviously a big fan in me. And if you’re asking me what my party affiliation is, I’m a Trumpocrat.”
Watch the video below:
https://twitter.com/alexsalvinews/status/1229986470154211329
Trump confirmed reports that he had commuted the Blagojevich’s sentence before boarding Air Force One on Tuesday afternoon.
“We have commuted the sentence of Rod Blagojevich. He served eight years in jail, that’s a long time. And I watched his wife on television. I don’t know him very well. I’ve met him a couple of times, he was on for a short while on ‘The Apprentice’ years ago, seemed like a very nice person, don’t know him.”
He continued to claim that Blagojevich had been given a harsh prison sentence, and likened it to investigations of his 2016 presidential campaign, “It was a prosecution by the same people — Comey, Fitzpatrick — the same group.”
In case you missed it:
Trump on commuting sentence for Blagojevich: "It was a prosecution by the same people — Comey, Fitzpatrick — the same group." pic.twitter.com/gXigT20Fdc
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 18, 2020
After news that Trump had commuted his sentence, Illinois’ House Republican delegation released a statement blasting the decision and arguing that Blagojevich was given an appropriate prison sentence.
“We are disappointed by the President’s commutation of Rod Blagojevich’s federal sentence. We believe he received an appropriate and fair sentence, which was the low-end of the federal sentencing guidelines for the gravity of his public corruption convictions. Blagojevich is the face of public corruption in Illinois, and not once has he shown any remorse for his clear and documented record of egregious crimes that undermined the trust placed in him by voters.”
NEW: Illinois’ House GOP delegation condemns Trump’s commutation of Blagojevich’s sentence.
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) February 18, 2020
“As our state continues to grapple with political corruption, we shouldn’t let those who breached the public trust off the hook.” pic.twitter.com/U958hzjbUO
Blagojevich served eight years of a 14-year sentence after he was convicted on charges of trying to sell former President Barack Obama’s Senate seat after his 2008 election, and attempting to extort a children’s hospital.
However, after his release on Tuesday, Blagojevich claimed that his actions did not violate any laws, rather he described them as “routine politics.”