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President Donald Trump offered a full pardon to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Monday.
Blagojevich, 68, previously served eight years in prison on charges related to a conviction of attempting to sell former President Barack Obama’s seat after he won the 2008 election.
“It’s my pleasure,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “I think he’s a very fine person. This shouldn’t have happened to him.”
The full pardon follows Trump commuting Blagojevich’s 14-year sentence in 2020.
Trump’s history with the former Illinois governor also includes Blagojevich appearing on Trump’s reality show “The Celebrity Apprentice” in 2010. The appearance was between the governor’s conviction in 2009 and his retrial in 2011, where he was found guilty on all 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,” according to the Associated Press.
The action adds to notable pardons so far during Trump’s second term. As RSBN previously reported, Trump pardoned over 20 pro-life activists who were targeted by the Biden administration, fulfilling the wishes of many pro-life voters.
The order Trump signed will also affect those who are not currently imprisoned but out of custody at the moment. He told the press during the signing of the order, “This is a great honor to sign this.”
Trump also signed a pardon for approximately 1,500 individuals charged in the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, on the evening of his first day in office on Jan. 20.
The order included “a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,” with a small number of individuals receiving commutations.
The pardon also ended all pending charges against those charged with crimes related to the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
“I further direct the Attorney General to pursue dismissal with prejudice to the government of all pending indictments against individuals for their conduct related to the events at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. The Bureau of Prisons shall immediately implement all instructions from the Department of Justice regarding this directive,” the pardon stated.
