Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Monday warned politicians that they could end up in jail like him if they keep raising campaign money.
“I never accepted gifts, vacations, clothes, jewelry or flights on fancy jets in exchange for my political influence,” he wrote in the Wall Street Journal. “Whenever I went to a Chicago Cubs game, I paid for my own tickets. Yet here I am in my sixth year of a 14-year prison sentence for the routine practice of attempting to raise campaign funds while governor.”
“So today from prison, I am warning all candidates and elected officials to watch out,” he wrote.
Blagojevich was convicted for asking for bribes in return for making certain appointments, including the appointment of Barack Obama’s replacement in the Senate after he was elected president in 2008.
Blagojevich was caught on tape saying of his chance to name Obama’s replacement, “I’ve got this thing, and it’s fucking golden. I’m just not giving it up for fucking nothing.”
The former governor said federal law needs to be changed to ensure politicians are allowed to raise money without fear of being accused of seeking bribes.
“Stop now before it is too late,” he wrote. “Wait until the law is clarified and the line clearly drawn. Otherwise you are playing a dangerous game of chance.”
In April, the Supreme Court decided against taking up his conviction, which he said is “catastrophic” for him, but also bad news for politicians who aren’t yet in prison.
