Blagojevich Receives Pardon From Trump

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich received a full pardon from President Trump on Monday, five years after Trump commuted the 14-year federal sentence he was serving on corruption charges. "I've watched him. He was set up by a lot of bad people, some of the same people I had to deal with," Trump said as he signed the pardon at the White House, the AP reports. Blagojevich, who had years left on his sentence when Trump commuted his sentence, governed as a Democrat but has since spoken out in support of Trump, the Hill reports.

Blagojevich appeared on Celebrity Apprentice after he was impeached and removed from office for trying to sell an appointment to Barack Obama's former Senate seat. Sources tell Politico that Trump is considering nominating Blagojevich, who is Serbian American, to be the US ambassador to Serbia. Last month, Blagojevich denied a report that he was "eyeing" the ambassadorship. "I'm not asking President Trump for anything. I'm profoundly grateful to him for commuting my 14 year prison sentence and giving my daughter's (sic) their father back, he said in a post on X. "What I am seeking is justice and for the truth of the corrupt prosecution against me to be exposed." (More Rod Blagojevich stories.)