The Republican members of the House who represent Illinois penned a joint letter urging President Trump not to commute the sentence of Rod Blagojevich.
Blagojevich, who served as the Democratic governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009, was convicted in 2011 on corruption charges stemming from an attempt to “sell” the Senate seat of former President Barack Obama. Trump floated the idea of commuting the 62-year-old’s sentence while talking to reporters Wednesday.
But the Illinois delegation pushed back on that notion in a Thursday statement, appealing to the president not to use his power to release Blagojevich from his 14-year prison sentence.
“It’s important that we take a strong stand against pay-to-play politics, especially in Illinois where four of our last eight governors have gone to federal prison for public corruption. Commuting the sentence of Rod Blagojevich, who has a clear and documented record of egregious corruption, sets a dangerous precedent and goes against the trust voters place in elected officials,” the statement read.
It also mentions a letter the delegation sent to Trump in June expressing opposition to commuting Blagojevich’s sentence.
Blagojevich was once a cast member of Trump’s reality show The Apprentice. Trump said Wednesday that he thought the former governor was given an unjust sentence.
“I thought he was treated unbelievably unfairly,” Trump said. “And a lot of people thought it was unfair, like a lot of other things — and it was the same gang, the Comey gang and all these sleazebags that did it. And his name is Rod Blagojevich. And I’m thinking about commuting his sentence.”
