President Trump’s decision to commute the sentence of Rod Blagojevich could cost him votes in 2020, according to the leading House Republican in Illinois.
On Tuesday, Trump announced that he will commute the remainder of Blagojevich’s 14-year prison sentence after the former Illinois governor spent eight years behind bars for corruption charges. Rep. Jim Durkin, who leads the Republican minority in the Illinois House, blasted Trump’s decision and claimed that it revealed a double standard for justice.
“I was involved firsthand with the impeachment efforts [for Blagojevich], and I saw a governor who was rouge on steroids. He was a person that was not — didn’t care about the state of Illinois,” said Durkin. “He only cared about his own ambition, and he abused the office.”
Durkin noted that the punishment for Blagojevich was deemed appropriate by the lower court, the appellate court, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He argued that Trump was granting Blagojevich “special treatment” compared to other convicted criminals.
“It’s just because of the celebrity of Rod Blagojevich [that] he’s getting this type of relief, and I think it’s wrong. And it sends a bad message to people in this country that, you know what? You don’t exactly have to pay your debt to society,” Durkin explained.
Durkin said he would “never” understand the president’s decisions related to Blagojevich. He added, “That’s something that he’s going to have to explain, but I think he needs to explain to people of Illinois who saw a governor destroy the integrity of his office but also did some very, very terrible things to the finances of this state.”
Blagojevich was found guilty of trying to extort a children’s hospital for campaign donations in 2011. He was also found guilty of attempting to sell the Senate seat of Barack Obama after he became president and vacated the position.
Durkin argued that Trump’s decision to commute the former governor’s sentence could haunt his campaign in 2020, saying, “I guess he’s not concerned about the state of Illinois for next November.”
Trump was nowhere near winning Illinois in 2016. Hillary Clinton defeated Trump in the state by nearly 1 million votes, or 16.8%.
New: Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin says jailed ex-gov Blagojevich was “rogue on steroids” when he “abused the office.” Adds, “I guess @realDonaldTrump‘s not concerned about the state of Illinois next November.” pic.twitter.com/vMJ95ve3HO
— Mark Maxwell (@MarkMaxwellTV) February 18, 2020
