President Donald Trump on Monday will pardon former Democrat Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, according to a person familiar with his plans.
Trump commuted Blagojevich's 14-year sentence for political corruption charges during his first term. He planned to sign the pardon Monday afternoon, according to the person, who was not authorized to discuss the planned pardon publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
Blagojevich, who appeared on Trump's reality TV show "Celebrity Apprentice," was convicted in 2011. He served eight years before Trump, a Republican, cut short his term.
Blagojevich was convicted on charges that included seeking to sell an appointment to then-President Barack Obama's former Senate seat and trying to shake down a children's hospital.
The intended pardon during Trump's fourth week in office follows clemency that Trump granted on his first day back to 1,500-plus people charged in connection with the events of Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol.
Blagojevich appeared on "Celebrity Apprentice" in 2010, before his first corruption trial started, drawing praise from Trump at the time when he "fired" him as a contestant.
As president, Trump drew links between investigations of his own behavior in his first term and Blagojevich's case.
Blagojevich was convicted on 18 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.
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