Transcripts For CNNW United 20240702

The first served in the early 19th century and left no likenesses behind. The second. Is eliot spitzer. Every day in every state across the country, our political system is bankrolled by an army of fundraisers, pulling in millions of dollars a race. Sometimes it looks like you might imagine knocking on doors, calling every name in the phone book, and emailsso many emails. But for all those little fish throwing 100 to their local race, its the whales those Campaign Fundraisers really need powerful, rich individuals and companies. And when they donate 25,000, 100,000, a million dollars, they want a favor. Or 10. It should be obvious thats corrupt, but with a wink and a nod, political deals toe the bribery line every single day. And we may never have noticed that if a certain illinois governor hadnt flung back the curtain with an unrepentant ego, a political corruption crime spree, and a set of unprecedented Audio Recordings that shined a bright light on the inner workings of american political power. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Rod Blagojevich. It was early morning, cause i used to get up every morning and turn on the 6 00 news, and, you know, like, youre kinda waking up, and then youre like, well, wait, what . [helicopter whirring] oh, sh, they outside of blagojevichs house they got cameras, they got cars, and then they march him out. And youre like, thats our governor, joe. Breaking news the illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich, charged with plotting to sell Barack Obamas former senate seat. Tapper remember this guy . He sure hopes you do. Governor Rod Blagojevich went down in a blaze of infamy for one of the largest political corruption scandals of our time. The governor was allegedly trying to sell the Illinois Senate seat vacated by President Elect obama. In fact, part of the governors sales pitch was that the seat still had that new obama smell. [audience laughter] appointing someone to the senate is a rare opportunity when the will of the people is swapped wholesale for a gubernatorial power trip. Blagojevich had the Sole Authority to place whomever he wanted straight into the halls of the u. S. Senate, and he was not shy about wanting a Little Something in return. With the fbi recording his phone calls, for the First Time Since nixon, the public was able to listen in on raw backroom politics, and theres nothing quite like hearing it from the horses mouth. Reporter the criminal complaint quotes blagojevich as saying the senate seat was a valuable thing. You just dont give it away for nothing. Another quote ive got this thing, and its bleeping golden. [blagojevich speaking] ive got this thing, and its [bleep] golden. Yeah. [audience laughter] and im not just giving it up for [bleep] nothing. [laughter] was there a second [bleep] in there . Tapper racking up a staggering 24 criminal charges, governor blagojevichs actions essentially boiled down to four things extortion, bribery, corruption, and wire fraud. And it wasnt just about the senate seat. Blagojevich was also found guilty of extorting a Childrens Hospital. You cant write this stuff. Hes an arrogant punk who thinks that, you know, hes bulletproof. Well, hes not. He was convicted on 18 total charges and sentenced to 14 years, the longest sentence ever handed down to a governor. People loathed blagojevich for the way he politicked, but was what he did so blatantly criminal . cause the truth is that the line between whats illegal and whats allowable is much murkier than wed like to think, and this is where the Rod Blagojevich story gets interesting. Let me reassert to all of you once more that i am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing. [camera shutter clicks] was rod a corrupt politician or just a politician operating in a corrupt system that still thrives to this day . So, governor, thanks for doing this. Thank you. So youve been out of prison now for almost two years. A little over two years. And youre still very outspoken about how you feel like the case against you was unjust. There isnt really an argument about what you said. Right. Its on tape. Right. The question is whether it was illegal and whether it was morally wrong. Look, if youre saying, do we have a fundraising system in america that you can arguing is legalized bribery . I think theres truth to that. But did i do anything other than that standard that every other person in politics does, from President Biden on down . I did the same as them and nothing worse. There is this real problem in american Politics Today where prosecutors are weaponizing themselves, criminalizing Routine Illegal Practices in government politics, and i think its wrong when they do it to bill clinton. Its wrong, i think, when they did it to President Trump cause i have strong views on that, and i know it was wrong when they did it to me. Okay, lot to unpack there. Lets talk about the chicago and illinois system, because youre hardly the first governor in history, even in recent history, toto go to prison. Whats the situation here that causes this to happen . Well, i think its timehonored here, and theres a long history in chicago politics, illinois politics, where pretty much everybody gets rich. Ah, chicago politics. Its like going to a pay pond when you go fishing. Like, if you are a prosecutor, you cannot be in illinois and not get something. Illinois is steeped in a rich history of political corruption that dates back a century to the prohibition era, when bootlegging gangsters such as al capone bought off politicians and police departments, keeping them drunk on power and. Also just drunk. In rods lifetime, illinois has developed a rap sheet that any mobster would be proud of more than 1,700 convictions for corruption, including nearly 30 chicago aldermen, eight stage legislators, two u. S. Congressmen, and before rod came onto the scene, three governors. In an odd way, the very people who should hate the idea of corruption are kind of proud that this is al capones illinois. Chicago is a wink and a nod town. Its a shot and a beer town. [clink] lot of it has to do with family relationships, because a lot of the Political Leadership in chicago and illinois are familyrelated. Theres the daley family, the madigans. All of these families sort of become part of this mafia. Yeah. A political mafia, and theyre the ones who make the rules. I didnt come from that. I had to marry into it. I met a girl on the 6th of march, 1988. She was wearing a red dress, and she happened to be the daughter of an oldfashioned chicago political war boss. And shes my wife patti. We fell in love. Patti blagojevich is a loyal wife, she is a tough customer, and shes the daughter of dick mell. Shes complicated. That budding relationship between those two is how rod goes from this nobody politically, finding a way to kind of imbed himself into one of these big political families in chicago. They have so much power. I dont think it was, you know, some great surprise that, like, you know, when it comes time to meet the parents, that dick mell was the fatherinlaw and thethe powerful city council chieftain. Were gonna try to Work Together to put this great city back together so that were all part of it and we all feel free. Dick mell was a guy who always had the voice in the backrooms. He was a power broker in that kind of chicago classic sense. Before politics, it was a nice relationship, but for the most part, respectful. And then because i was in the family, and i was actually pretty good at helping her dad, local politics, knocking on doors and trying to get him votes, there was an opportunity to run for office. In Rod Blagojevich, mell could see a guy that eventually, if he does it right, i could sort of pass the mantle toward. Rod was an immediate hit with illinois voters, who sent him first to the state house in 1992 and then to the u. S. Congress in 1996. Dick mell says, i can see you being governor. And i gotta be honest, im sure if im looking at it from dick mells position, hes saying, man, if i can elect this guy governor, i can run the whole state. Reporter the campaign for illinois governor has gotten pretty lively. Youve got chicago congressman Rod Blagojevich. Whats that name again . Balajovich. Reporter balajovich, huh . Balajovich. You sure . Positive. Tapper during rods 2002 governors campaign, dick mells membership in the Old School Chicago elite was a definite bonus, but it was rods Working Class Bonafides and People Skills that did all the rest. Coming from the family he did, he had a real working class chip on his shoulder, and his two heroes were elvis and richard nixon, both because they were guys who came from the wrong side of their tracks and fought their way up and were kind of disdained by the elites. In fact, if those two gritty 20th century icons fought their way into a single person, you might actually end up with Rod Blagojevich, for better and for worse. The Rod Blagojevich that i first met was youthful. He was energetic. He had this kind of mane of black hair that was super thick, and you could tell it was filled with hair product. The hair so iconic in its own right, that it became a Comedy Staple on every late night show. The hair. The hair. Really, it looks like youre wearing a toupee thats also wearing a toupee. [audience laughter] he had a huge infatuation with elvis presley. His charisma was disarming. [cheers and applause] [amplified voice] thank you. Thank you very much. [cheers, whistles, and applause] but the elvis of illinois was itching to lose his colonel parker, because despite the many benefits of dick mells patronage, rod was still in his shadow. You know, he really became known as dick mells soninlaw first. And i know he hated that. He didnt know how to both be his own man and not let dick mell foreshadow him. The only way for rod to survive outside of his fatherinlaws machine was to create his own cash flow. So his first step was to hire two of chicagos most bareknuckled political fundraisers, chris kelly and tony rezko. Chris kelly and tony rezko could generate big bucks. They were fundraisers. They were donors. You know, lets just call em what they were. They were influence peddlers. They wound up being able to shake the bushes here and help rod raise money. They promised access and favors if blagojevich won, and they got results. Where dick mells Good Old Boys would fetch 2,000 at a time, kelly and rezko would shake loose 50 grand. All that money plus rods appeal to voters who had felt ignored by the entrenched chicago political dynasties well, it proved to be an unstoppable combination. He ran on some things that were uniquely important to black people. Healthcare for kids is a good idea. When he said, free rides for seniors on Public Transportation, that resonated with black people specifically. Blagojevich became governor in 2003. Congratulations, governor. Thank you. May god bless you. [cheers and applause] how do you view your your time as governor apart from the scandals . How do i say this in a way where i dont sound like a guy without any humility . But i truly believe i was a great governor. I cant think of any governor in my life that did anything for anybody i knew that can walk around and say, you know what . Thank you, governor. My daughter had healthcare through you. Free Public Transportation for seniors and the disabled . I did that cause they raised the sales tax, which hurts working people and poor people and seniors. With the legislature raising taxes that hit lowerincome illinoisans hardest, and rod striking back with policies to offset that, its no surprise that his populist agenda made him a lot of enemies amongst the big political families. To the people and the masses, he was on our team, and to the aristocracy and to the political elites, he was this guy that was taking their resources and giving em to the peasants, and so he became robin hood. I knew the reality that im gonna have resistance from the old guard, the old ward bosses, the madigans, daley to some extent, my fatherinlaw, and so the goal was raise money now and raise a lot of it so that you can afford to make enemies, and you can afford to lose support. Right, but some of these people that you were that you were relying on like chris kelly werewere corrupt. Right . Turned out that chris had problems in his own personal business, and he was found guilty of those things. Had nothing to do with me. But, like, a lot of the people in the world of fundraising are not necessarily. They are not. Upstanding individuals. No, theyre not. Yeah. No, theyre not. Whats the saying . Ignorance is not a defense . Tony rezco and chris kelly they started compiling this list of different entities that were state contractors, and they hit all those people up for money, probably with rods assistance. Hey, you got a contract . You wanna keep it . Or you want to get more . You gotta pony up. A lot of people in play have scalpellike tendencies when they fundraise, and rod was probably more of a meat cleaver. [beeping] [telephone rings] kelly and rezco were using Government Levers to squeeze anyone they could for a Campaign Contribution kickbacks like a cushy job or a fat contract, a little light extortion such as holding up teachers funds. They had deep pockets to fill and a financial machine to do it. You cant trade official actions as a governor in exchange for Campaign Contributions or jobs. I mean, there is one simple word for that. Its called graft. Graft is simply the use of political power and authority in exchange for personal gain. To state the obvious, appointing unqualified people to State Positions because you wanna use the government as a Vending Machine for your Political Campaign thats completely illegal. The m. O. Was to make money from every State Petitioner possible, and smalltown hospital ceo pam davis looked like just another easy mark. But in this case, the Whole Shakedown Process is recorded by the Hospital Executive who was getting shaken down. [laughs] woman he needs to reset your wire. [laughs] oh, god, another wire. Sorry for, uh. I dont care. Just in here. Uh, the governor really wasnt on my radar, um, at all until i experienced an Extortion Attempt through one of his, um, colleagues. Pams Hospital System wanted to build a new facility in plainfield, illinois. Seems pretty straightforward, but there were red flags right away when she went to get Government Approval for the project. Davis in my case, the governor had appointed individuals to this board who had either contributed money to his campaign, so they bought their way on, or individuals that were controlled by the governor and other individuals and would approve only those projects where a kickback was going to be given. Turns out the board was willing to approve the hospital. All she had to do was use builders and lenders who were in their pocket and pad the contract so the board could take. Lets call it a Transaction Fee for their trouble. It became clear to me that this was a major Extortion Attempt, and i was furious. So i called the fbi. The feds set her up with a wire so they could listen in on her meetings with Board Members and get the dirt straight from the source. Shed be meeting with these players, and they would be basically laying out the whole scheme to her. Davis the contract would be padded, um, by roughly 10 million so that that money would go then to the various players. At one point, i decided, i wonder if this goes up to the governor, because the governor appoints these individuals to the various boards. The feds were wondering the same thing, and over the course of their investigation, their suspicions proved to be spot on. Out of the public eye, rods fundraising goons, chris kelly and tony rezko, felt safe to strongarm money from donors across illinois. But unbeknownst to them, the fbi was following their every move as part of a farreaching Corruption Investigation into the blagojevich administration. As the money rolled in, their role in rods administration only grew, which had his fatherinlaw, dick mell, feeling as though hed been served divorce papers. As dick mell famously said, he got replaced by a trophy wife or trophy wives. Those were the people who were getting the love that he should have gotten and wasnt getting. We all know that you got here because of dick mell. Rod says, i got my own team, and so dont talk to dick mell. Not only does he not do what you wanna do, but he said, dont talk to my boss. Im the boss now. Well, dick mell aint feeling that, and dick mell is not the type to be like, so, may i talk to you privately . Mell wears his heart on his sleeve, his anger on his sleeve. Leave me out he can love you today, and if he starts hating you tomorrow, he can, you know, pull the switch just like that. And mell becomes more and more resentful of being cast aside, and so that fueled this tension in that family to the point where it eventually exploded. [explosion] that explosion came in 2005, and though it may not have aired on reality tv, it was still inextricably linked to garbage. Rod blagojevich closed down this landfill which dick mell was a part owner of. Rod said that this was for environmental issues. Tapper what did he want you to do . Leave it alone, and i had learned that it was operating in violation of the environmental laws. I had knowledge of that. Uh, ultimately, i decided i had a duty, that i had to shut it down, and then he made some accusations that really unleashed the furies. Dick mell called a Press Conference and basically accused Rod Blagojevich of Selling Board and Commission Seats within state government. Reporter mell has had a falling out with his soninlaw, the governor. This is a family at war. So your fatherinlaw, dick mell, accused chris kelly of selling political favors for Campaign Contributions of 25,000 to 50,000 at a time. Tell me about where were you when you heard that he was leveling this accusation. I remember vividly. It was early january of 2005, and this was the consequence of me shutting down his landfill. The very next day, he called a Press Conference, and he was clever enough to accuse chris kelly, not directly me, but thats me. I dont think he envisioned that it would turn into something that would ultimately land me in prison, but i know he did this to hurt me politically and cause me problems with the fbi. Tapper mels allegations backed rod into a corner, giving the fbi room to prosecute his inner circle, until in 2008, the feds secured a secret wiretap on the governor himself. Feeling the squeeze, rod started looking for some kind of escape route, and then a golden opportunity landed right in his lap. At this defining moment, change has come to america. [cheers and applause] now that senator barack obama is President Elect barack obama, someone will have to take over his senate seat. This is the governors decision. Uh, it is not my decision. The criteria that i would have for my successor would be the same criteria that id have if i were a voter. Senator obama becomes president obama. He resigns his senate seat. According to the law here in illinois, you as the governor get to name his replacement. Now youre excited about this, and you say on tape, id like to get the [bleep] out of here, and youre talking about options for yourself. Does that mean, id like to get the [bleep] out of here, you were sick of being governor . Thats absolutely the things i was saying, of course, and i was looking at all kinds of options. So he attempted to trade obamas seat for a golden parachute. He begins to be heavily courted by all sorts of people who would love to be that u. S. Senator. They saw something really valuable here a very valuable Bargaining Chip that could elevate his power in some way or or benefit them monetarily. When i said i wanted to get the eff out of here, its because the fbi people and my persecutors were all over me, and its the sort of thing, when that stuffs swirling around you, you know that stuffs swirling around you. Right. And its there. Its everywhere, and it and it was just very clear to me that they were determined to get me no matter what. I guess one question i have is knowing that they were looking at you, why did you talk about this stuff that way . Look, i had 2,896 days in prison to ask myself a thousand questions, including that. But you know what . Whats the alternative . I have all my staff and lawyers. We all go to saunas and get naked and talk to each other so nobodys got wires on em . No, or whats the alternative . Or you just dont say anything, or you just say, like, this seat is very important, and we wanna make sure the best person gets it. And separately, i am thinking that id like to not be governor of illinois anymore. Well said. I dont make a habit of telling politicians how to avoid jail time, but heres the thing. Being more cautious could have gotten Rod Everything he wanted and kept him out of prison, but caution is not really in rods dna. [blagojevich speaking] [line disconnects] jackson you know they taping you, so you cant say that out loud, right . Breaking news the illinois governor charged with plotting to sell Barack Obamas former senate seat. Reporter illinois Rod Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday Morning by federal authorities and charged with corruption. Dude. Dude dude. You know they trying to get you, dawg. But why . Why . Reporter the day after being arrested on corruption charges, illinois governor Rod Blagojevich walked out of his house and headed back to work. [camera shutter clicks] tapper all in all, Rod Blagojevich was facing 24 charges connected to four specific events the attempted sale of obamas senate seat, withholding legislation that would benefit a Childrens Hospital and racetrack in an attempt to get political contributions, and the Attempted Extortion of a highway contractor. [amplified voice, chanting] 2, 3, 4, blago must go i personally think he should at least step aside if not resign. My husband is an honest man, and i know that hes innocent. Jackson he thought that he had the moral high ground. I dont believe theres any cloud that hangs over me. Man governor, governor well, getting back to that, can we discuss your i think theres nothing but sunshine hanging over me. He didnt show any of the humility or anything. You just cant stick your finger in the eye of the federal government. Let me reassert to all of you once more that i am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing, that im confident that at the end of the day, i will be, uh, properly, uh, exonerated. [reporters speaking at once] i represented Rod Blagojevich in two of his criminal trials. I mean, he wanted to fight his case. He believed he was innocent, and he was working to that end to try and prove his innocence. Anyone who believes that this was a selling of some senate seat doesnt understand politics. Every single day in politics, that is what happens, is this horsetrading. And if you really listen to this in context, what you heard was talking with various people, getting annoyed, talking about nonsense, and then the end. Nothing really that was ever acted on. Later, Rod Blagojevichs lawyers would argue that what rod did specifically with the senate seat was no worse than when president eisenhower appointed earl warren as Chief Justice of the supreme court. Back in 1952, Dwight Eisenhowers about to win the nomination to become the republican president. Earl warren, the governor of california, is withholding the delegations votes. Governor warren tells eisenhower, ill deliver the delegation for you on one condition. I wanna be the next Chief Justice of the supreme court. Ike, the great war hero, shakes hands, says, you got a deal. He wins. One year later, earl warren is the Chief Justice of the United States supreme court. Rod wanted a political appointment from obama, and for that, he was prepared to trade obamas old senate seat, which is actually legal. Otherwise, eisenhower would have gone to jail, and americans would not have liked ike. Do you see yourself as somebody who was just trying to function in perhaps an inherently corrupt but legal system, and that theoretically almost any politician could be snagged the way you were . Absolutely. Of course i do, except im giving me higher marks. Because i was using that money thatthat and that power gave me to fight an established system that served itself on the backs of the people, and when you do that, you piss a lot of people off, and they wanna get rid of you. But do you think that youre earthier about it . Like, more outspoken about it . Well, i wasnt hiding any of it, but thesebecause its legal, and thats how you govern. Abraham lincoln was able to get the 13th Amendment passed at congress, which ratified the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves. He had to make political deals with members of congress to get the votes to pass it. Thats how you get things done. Youre not comparing yourself to abraham lincoln. By no means. Okay. And please say that. Im not comparing myself to abraham lincoln. Youre not or the Emancipation Proclamation. Okay, right. Hes a lot taller than me, and i never did anything as great as that, of course not. But youre also not talking about thei mean, the Emancipation Proclamation of course im not. Governor blagojevich tried to sell the appointment to the senate seat vacated by President Elect obama. The conduct would make lincoln roll over in his grave. Youre very critical of pat fitzgerald. Yeah, hes an evil guy. Hes a wicked guy. Hes a scoundrel, and he deserves to get an ass kicking. You know . And hes a big coward. Anyway, go ahead. Sorry. Well, i think he would take issue with everything you just said. You know, he has a reputation for being the choirboy, for being, you know, an upstanding, moral person. He sees himself as, i am trying to uphold some basic standards for our politicians. Thats how he views it. Governor blagojevich has been arrested in the middle of what we can only describe as a political corruption crime spree. We had a political and public narrative that we had to overcome, and when the entire Potential Jury Pool believes that your client is guilty before theyve even heard the evidence, youre going into the trial like if its a basketball game, youre losing 100 to nothing. Or its like if youre a governor, and youre getting impeached 114 to 1, and the lone vote in rods favor his sisterinlaw, deb mell. Done from office and eager to prove he was not a crook, rod knew exactly where to plead his case. Please welcome to the program governor Rod Blagojevich [applause] you are a charming dude with the best set of hair ive ever [bleep] seen. [audience laughter] so i want this to be real. Got some challenges ahead, but, uh, im gonna trust in the truth and as it says in the bible, the truth shall set you free. Rod blagojevich just. Kept. Talking. How are you . You wanna get on tv . Come on in. I think he was able to warm himself a little bit with the public. Better to be seen as a klutz than a crook. Sure, everyone loves a good laugh, but Oversaturating The Talk Show Circuit May have had unintended consequences, as David Letterman told rod when he appeared on the late show in 2009. The more you talked and the more you repeated your innocence, the more i said to myself, oh, this guys guilty. [laughter] so during the period from your impeachment to your trial and your sentencing, you did a lot of media appearances. What was the strategy behind that . My feeling was like, look, i didnt do any of that stuff, and what does somebody do whos being lied about . But you have a tremendous desire to get out at the highest mountain and yell out, i didnt do it. Well, letterman said that the louder you yelled it, the more it made him think you were guilty. Yeah. Yeah, i mean, i didnt i didnt convince him, but, uh, i think i convinced donald trump. Thats why i got invited on celebrity apprentice, right . I have Great Respect for your tenacity, for the fact that you just dont give up. But, rod. Youre fired. What i saw over the course of rods career was a guy who started off as kind of a charming rogue and a guy who really did give voice to concerns that people had to someone who became almost a parody of himself. And by the time that trial came around, he really was his own worst enemy. See you in court. He thought that the court of Public Opinion could save him, but he had disturbed forces that decided, it was a wrap for you, dude. Dont poke the feds, fam. Just dont do it. Man blago, can i get your autograph . Reporter at verdict today, in a notorious case that federal prosecutors did not want to hear, Rod Blagojevich was convicted today on only one count. See you guys man way to go, baby tapper the jury was hung on all but one of the charges against blagojevich, and without unanimous consent, the result was a mistrial on the remaining 23 charges. The jury, like a lot of people to this day, just could not agree on whether what hed done was actually illegal. In that first trial, the jury deadlocked on everything except for lying to the fbi. Right. You were convicted of lying to the fbi. Right. Do you acknowledge that you lied to the fbi . No. No. I dont. Ill tell you about that. It was about how much of your associates that were fundraising for you, the degree to which you knew what you were doing. Yeah, it was the issue was i said, i didnt, as a practice, track fundraising. And who got contracts . I didnt. I didnt look into who got contracts. I wasnt interested in that. I had 27,000 contributors. I wasnt tracking who gave me money, who got what. The first trial was too confusing for the jury, and they had a lot of paper documents. It was a lot of witness testimony. Man governor, are you anxious for this to begin . I feel great. Absolutely. What the government did in the second trial is they pared down theirtheir case, and they believed that everything was in the tapes and they needed to make this trial a lot simpler. [blagojevich speaking] he was swearing a lot. And upset and not appreciative of the position that he had. And i think that was more influential in the jurys decision than than anything. It made him look bad. Breaking news right now the jury has reached a decision, convicting blagojevich on 17 counts of corruption. Reporter wire fraud. Bribery. Blitzer Attempted Extortion. Solicitation of a bribe. Blitzer racketeering. Conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to commit extortion. Rod blagojevich was convicted on almost all counts and sentenced to 14 years. Patti and i are obviously very disappointed, uh, in the outcome. I, frankly, amam stunned. When did you realize, oh, shit, i might actually be going to prison . From the beginning. Really . I knew i was a dead man. Really . Yeah. Why . cause they have so much power and resources, and i, you know, wasnt really surprised when i got 14 years. The justification for the judge was, you treated this like a golden glove boxing match, but those corrupt liars are lucky dueling is outlawed, cause id have challenged them to a duel. Rapists and murderers get so much less time . Thats why this system is so wrong and so broken. Let me offer you an alternate theory. Sure. My alternate theory is that the entire system of justice that we have in this country depends on prosecutors and police who are incentivized to get convictions. Mmhmm. Period. What do you think of that . Well, i think youre almost right. [laughs] i never took a penny. No one says i did. I keep saying that cause thats so important to me. I dont want people to think that i was some one of these corrupt politicians that was taking cash. Tapper but remember, even though he never actually got that envelope full of money, that was because the feds closed in before the senate deal was done. The offers being considered, Campaign Contributions or a lucrative job in a nonprofit, the fact of accepting them that would have been simply illegal, hence, the charge of conspiracy to commit bribery, which he was definitely guilty of. Rods argument is no cash changed hands, but prior to that, there had been plenty of money changing hands. Theres ample evidence these government positions, these Government Contracts they were effectively for sale. It does not matter if Rod Blagojevich actually won the argument and got the money or the donations he was seeking. Its the ask. If something goofs it up, but the burglary or robberys interrupted, it doesnt make it less of an intended burglary or robbery, right . He had his day in court. That 14 years was what the system gave him. So you went to prison for almost eight years . 2,896 days. And let me tell ya what gets you through prison when you have to face Something Like that. Its love and its faith love for my daughters and my wife. You know, when i was arrested, within days, the vegas oddsmakers had it 9 to 1 that she was leaving. So in that sense, ive been so lucky and blessed. After he was sent to prison, patti proclaimed his innocence, and she did try and go to any leader that she could find to have him either pardoned or commuted. And when all else failed, Patti Blagojevich knew exactly who to appeal to next. I dont want you to move. Im gonna miss you so much. You realize well have Internet Waiting for us at the new place, right . Oh, we know. We just like making a scene. Transferring your services has never been easier. Get connected on the day of your move with the xfinity app. Can i sleep over at your new place . Can katie sleep over tonight . Sure, honey this generation is so dramatic move with xfinity. After rod goes to prison, patti was essential in keeping their life together. More than anything else, maybe, she got in Donald Trumps ear. Trump had a connection with blagojevich cause rod was on the apprentice, and Patti Blagojevich was on fox news every day. You know, we know that President Trump is a kind man, and hes compassionate. Hes always been kind to my family. And when you speak on fox news, you have a direct connection with donald trump. Today the president Sprung From Prison Former illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted after attempting his own quid pro quo. Yes, uh, we have commuted the sentence of rod. I watched his wife on television. Quote, um, i watched his wife on television. Yes. End quote. How didhow did that happen . I think he just sawhe he would tell me he liked the fact that i was fighting back. I remember him saying Something Like, uh, you know, i have friends that go through what youre going through, and theyre in a corner. They cant even move, and youre out there throwing punches. I think he liked that. Im so grateful to him. Sometimes things happen in life where god intervenes in the most unbelievable ways. Trump, blagojevich, fox news . Im not sure how much god played a role in any of this. When rod came home from prison after eight years, his daughters had grown up. How are your relationships with them . Theyre good. Im im getting to know them. Our family was broken for a long time. The difficulties that i talked about with my fatherinlaw, those were heartbreaking, because in spite of everything, i love him, and hes been good to me in so many ways. And, uh, you know, its been a tough road for my wife. Our lives could have been so much simpler, so much better. Understandably, rod looks back on the time away from his family with regret, not for what he did, of course, but that he was sent to prison in the first place. But what else would you expect from rod . I am a political prisoner. I was put in prison for practicing politics. Wait a minute. Youre a political prisoner . Nelson mandela was a political prisoner. Political prisoners have no due process. I was thrown in prison and spent nearly eight years in prison for practicing politics, for seeking Campaign Contributions without a quid pro quo. You do have an obligation to at least admit what you did wrong, and you refuse to do that, and youre creating a whole new alternate universe of facts, and that may be big in Politics Today, but its still, frankly, just bullshit. A reporter, uh, asked you if you wanted to say sorry to the people of illinois, and you said, sorry for what . Do you still feel that way . Very much so. Ive done a lot wrong. Criminal . None. You and your defenders argue that the persecution, prosecution of you is about the criminalization of politics. In other words, there is horsetrading that goes on in politics. You do me this favor. Ill do you this favor, and thats all you were doing, and that its legal, but they made it out to be illegal. Well, first of all, its not illegal. Now you can argue whether we should improve our laws. Thats a valid thing. I would think theres a lot of room to improve the fundraising laws, but thats not illegal at all, and its a common practice. Now ultimately, after ive been in prison for four years, the Appellate Court reverses that big lie of the sale of the senate seat, and they said its routine political logrolling. And look, thats partially true. The court did vacate the conviction related to obamas senate seat, but they never said he did nothing wrong. The court said there was a jury instruction issue, and they upheld the remaining 13 counts. So contrary to his claim, he has not been exonerated. And for the love of elvis, we can only hope that rods crimes are not routine. If there is a big lie, its that hes a victim, especially since every other charge was upheld, including the extortion of a Childrens Hospital. Gandhi, he aint. This isnt some sort of mystery, that, gosh, i didnt know. I had no idea. Its so gray. Really . I think most of us have some gut sense of when were beginning to get in trouble. I dont believe blagojevich has ever done any reflection on right and wrong. Extorting a hospital never occurred to him that that might harm the citizens that he was elected to protect. Hehe has no ability to look at anything but himself. Thats it. Thats it. Whats the worst thing that can be said about you thats accurate in your view, other than you were stupid to say that stuff . Sure. Look, ive been accused of being a narcissist. I might plead to a misdemeanor on that, okay . Um, i think i my judgment of some people was way off. I think i should have been a lot more vigilant and see some of the warning signs. I knew they were aggressively out there raising money, and i didnt slow it down because i wanted to raise the campaign money. I could have been more vigilant on that in retrospect. Close, but no cigar. Whether or not rod trusted the wrong people, he set them loose on illinois because they brought him the most money. Whether the rules on political fundraising are flimsy guardrails at best, you can still drive between the lines. So rods tale is a cautionary one a cameragrabbing, overthetop example of how bribery, extortion, and graft easily sneak into our political system behind ambition and enormous egos. And if politicians or the public feel the same way he does, then another Rod Blagojevich is just around the corner. I didnt break a law, cross the line, or take a penny, okay . But i never said i wasnt a [bleep] idiot. [laughter] thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much awesome. Thank you so much. Yeah, thanks. Appreciate it. Really enjoyed it. Youre all right. I wish you the best. Well see how it ends up and who cares. Thats true. Find out what are you gonna do, throw me back in prison . No, but i mean, like, you cant hurt me, man