Blagojevich Takes Case Back To Supreme Court

Imprisoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich continues to fight for his release, filing a petition Thursday with the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge his 14-year sentence. Two years ago, a judge threw out five of the 18 counts of public corruption against the former official, but his sentence remained the same.

Now, the man caught on tape talking about selling former President Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder is arguing that the sentence — more than notorious gangster Al Capone received, he pointed out in an interview earlier this year — is unfair.

The appeal maintains that Democrat Blagojevich never violated campaign laws as defined in a previous Supreme Court case, and that his sentence is overly harsh compared with those handed down to officials convicted of similar charges, according to NBC Chicago.

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The appeal states that based on a previous case, McCormick vs. the United States, Blagojevich's fundraising activities were not illegal. The case found that a politician must make an explicit promise to a donor to take an official action in exchange for campaign money to be in violation of the law.

The appeal is the second time Blagojevich has petitioned the Supreme Court. If it fails, his last option would be for President Donald Trump — who once fired him on "Celebrity Apprentice" — to approve his request for a commutation. He previously aked then-President Obama to commute his sentence before leaving office last winter, which did not happen.

The ex-governor is five years into his sentence and is serving his time at a federal prison in Colorado.

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File