Trump Pardons Blagojevich, Says Prison Sentence 'Shouldn't Have Happened'

ILLINOIS — President Donald Trump pardoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Monday.

Blagojevich was convicted in 2011 on charges that included seeking to sell an appointment to then-President Barack Obama's old Senate seat and trying to shake down a children's hospital. Blagojevich, who appeared on Trump's reality TV show, "Celebrity Apprentice," served eight years in prison before Trump commuted his 14-year sentence in 2020.

The Republican president called the Democratic former governor "a very fine person" and said the conviction and prison sentence "shouldn't have happened."

"I've watched him. He was set up by a lot of bad people, some of the same people I had to deal with," Trump said at the White House as he signed the pardon.

Politico reported Friday that Trump was considering nominating the former governor to be the U.S. ambassador to Serbia, citing two people familiar with discussions, and noting Blagojevich’s father is from Serbia.

When asked about reports that he was considering appointing Blagojevich as ambassador, Trump responded: "No, but I would. He's now cleaner than anybody in this room."

Blagojevich met with Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vučić, and posted about the meeting last week on X, but he said in a separate post that he was “not eyeing” an ambassadorship.

“I’m not asking President Trump for anything,” Blagojevich said in the post. “I’m profoundly grateful to him for commuting my 14 year prison sentence and giving my daughter’s their father back. What I am seeking is justice and for the truth of the corrupt prosecution against me to be exposed.”

Blagojevich was convicted on 18 counts. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago in 2015 tossed out five of the convictions, including ones in which he offered to appoint someone to a high-paying job in the Senate.

Patti Blagojevich spent nearly two years making public pleas for her husband's release during Trump's first term, appearing often on Fox News Channel, which Trump devotedly watches.

The former governor had been serving time at Federal Correctional Institution-Englewood south of Denver since 2012. Prior to Trump's election, he petitioned former president Obama — whose Senate seat he was caught on tape attempting to profit from — for a commutation but didn't get it.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.