President Donald Trump may commute the prison sentence of one of Colorado’s most famous inmates, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is serving a prison term for his role in offering former President Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat to cronies.
Blagojevich, 61, is serving his 14-year sentence on corruption charges at the Federal Correctional Institution in Englewood. He was convicted in 2012 and has maintained his innocence. Trump also is considering pardoning Martha Stewart.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday that Blagojevich said something dumb but Trump believed the former governor’s sentence is excessive, according to media reports.
Blagojevich was convicted on several counts, including trying to sell President Barack Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat.
Blagojevich has made the most of his time behind bars, according to his Chicago attorney, Leonard Goodman.
Blagojevich has become a tutor, mentor and the lead singer in an Elvis Presley-inspired group of convicted musicians. At the prison in Englewood, he has led the “Jailhouse Rockers,” a name taken from one of Presley’s biggest hits.
Goodman has repeatedly attempted to get Blagojevich’s prison term reduced. In 2016, he asked a federal judge to reduce the sentence to five years. That request was denied.
In prison, fellow inmates call Blaogojevich “governor,” “The Gov” or “The Gobi.” But the nicknames are in good humor and out of respect, Goodman has said.
Blagojevich has been a role model behind bars, teaching history classes and mentoring fellow inmates about how to be good grandfathers, Goodman said. More than 100 of them wrote letters supporting his early release from prison.
Federal prosecutors, in contrast, haven’t been inspired by Blagojevich’s rehabilitative strides. In 2016, they pointed out that the former governor still maintained his innocence. They argued that he should serve every day of his 14-year sentence.
Englewood is also home for ex-Subway pitchman Jared Fogle, who is serving a 16-year prison sentence on charges of trading in child pornography and having sex with underage prostitutes.
