I'm not sure why the Bad Orange Man
commuted the sentence of Rod Blagojevich, the corrupt (is there any other kind?) former Illinois governor who essentially put Barack Obama's senate seat up for auction back in the day, but here you go:
After more than one false alarm raised and dashed the hopes of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, President Donald Trump finally answered his pleas and commuted Blagojevich’s 14-year prison term Tuesday, springing the Chicago Democrat from prison more than four years early and writing a stunning new chapter to one of the state’s most notorious corruption cases.
Personally, I wouldn't have done it, but my assumption is Trump is simply showing his ass to the various grandees who put Blago away, especially Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney who took the lead in the case. The linked article from the Chicago Tribune suggests as much:
Also issuing a statement were the attorneys who made up the team of prosecutors who handled the Blagojevich trials in U.S. District Court in Chicago. That group included former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, and his former assistants Reid Schar, Chris Niewoehner and Carrie Hamilton, who is now a judge, who pointed out that both the appellate and Supreme Courts affirmed the conviction and sentence.
“The appellate court described the evidence against him as ‘overwhelming,’” the statement read in part. “Extortion by a public official is a very serious crime, routinely prosecuted throughout the United States whenever, as here, it can be detected and proven. That has to be the case in America: a justice system must hold public officials accountable for corruption. It would be unfair to their victims and the public to do otherwise.”
Emphasis mine. That's right. Now do Andrew McCabe and Hillary Clinton. Trump has hinted as much:
In August, of Blagojevich, Trump said, “And a lot of people thought it was unfair, like a lot of other things — and it was the same gang, the Comey gang and all these sleazebags that did it.”
The president was referring to former FBI Director James Comey, a frequent Trump target who he contends sought to politicize the nation’s top law enforcement agency in the 2016 election in which Trump faced Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. After taking office, the president fired Comey amid the investigation into Russia’s interference in the election and whether the Trump campaign was involved.
Again, I wouldn't have made the same decision. But Trump does everything for a reason. And my guess is the reason will become more clear in time.
3 comments:
Perhaps he was able to convince POTUS he had learned the names of all the houses at Hogwarts.
the reason why Trump is difficult for political watchers to figure out is because we think we are commenting on a politician.
we arent.
Trump is first a businessman, then a deal maker, and after that a showman. the bottom line matters to him most, but how he gets there is anybody's guess.
he's unconvential, while being quite conventional.
in other words, nobody knows his mind but him.
and he likes it that way.
It will be interesting to see what Blago delivers as his part of the "deal". I'm pretty sure the Clinton assassination teams already had their "go-bags" packed, and are just waiting for directions.
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