Disgraced American politician Rod Blagojevich was given a complete pardon by President Donald Trump on Monday, February 10, 2025. To the uninformed, Blagojevich served as the Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009 and was aligned with the Democratic party at the time.
He was arrested in December of 2008 on charges of corruption and was impeached from his role as Governor the following month. Amongst the several allegations of corruption levied against him, was an attempt to sell the Illinois Senate seat of Barack Obama after the latter became the President of the United States.
Rod Blagojevich, as the Governor of Illinois, had the authority to choose Obama’s replacement and considered the seat to be “f——g golden.” And while Barack Obama and his staff faced no implications during the investigations, the early days of his administration were impacted by it.
It must also be noted that there were no inappropriate communications between Obama’s team and Blagojevich.
At this year’s @ObamaFoundation Democracy Forum, I spoke about pluralism – the idea that in a democracy, we all have to find a way to live alongside individuals and groups who are different from us. So we commit to a system of rules that helps us peacefully resolve our disputes… pic.twitter.com/XWcl81BbDI
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 6, 2024
Soon after his arrest and impeachment, Rod Blagojevich made an appearance on Donald Trump’s TV program, The Celebrity Apprentice. However, he would be convicted shortly after and was handed a 14-year-long prison sentence for his crimes.
Despite having been eliminated early on the show, Donald Trump came to Rod Blagojevich’s rescue, commuting his prison sentence to 8 years and setting him free in 2020. Addressing Blagojevich’s situation, Donald Trump said, “I’ve watched him. He was set up by a lot of bad people, some of the same people I had to deal with.”
Following his release the former Democrat Governor openly declared himself a “Trumpocrat.” And while his sentence was merely commuted at the time, Rod Blagojevich was issued a full pardon on Monday, making him a free man.
There are talks that Donald Trump chose to give Blagojevich a full pardon owing to him having supported the GOP during the 2024 Presidential Election campaign. To the unaware, Rod Blagojevich was seen at the GOP Convention last July.
Trumpocrats For Trump! The guy on the left is me. The guy on the right is Trump. pic.twitter.com/RHj4N0zQXT
— Rod Blagojevich (@realBlagojevich) June 27, 2024
The pardon has received polarizing responses from the masses, though. While Blagojevich’s supporters seem to be elated, his critics seem to be of the opinion that the pardon might once again encourage official misconduct and come off as a weakening of anti-corruption efforts.
Rod Blagojevich, despite being officially convicted of his crimes, has always maintained his innocence. Though a presidential pardon clears a person of legal consequences, it must be noted that it does not establish their innocence or overturn the convictions made in the first place.
