In a shocking interview, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat who was arrested on corruption charges and later had his sentence commuted by President Trump, claimed that his own party set him up and that he was completely innocent, going on to say that he was considering running for Senate.
For context, in an interview with Joe Rogan released on December 18, 2024, Blagojevich spoke at length with the renowned podcast host and discussed his impeachment after a public corruption charge back in 2011, adding that he believed that then-President Barack Obama, along with other prominent Democrats, had conspired to impeach him and land him in jail.
Despite claiming to be innocent, Blagojevich reportedly was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison in 2012 after his impeachment. He went on to serve 8 years of that sentence before it was commuted by President Trump in 2020. When he appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience, Blagojevich said, “I spent almost 8 years in prison for politics, not for crimes. I’m happy to answer any questions you have about any of it because I didn’t do it. It was all politics.”
Continuing, Blagojevich gave Rogan additional background about the nature of his trial, claiming that during the proceedings, prosecutors “failed to convict me on their fake corruption charges. They were floating 18 months.” He added, “And, you know, there were a lot of people in my team, like my lawyers, who thought that might be the prudent thing to do because you really can’t beat these people. The system is rigged.”
Moving on, Blagojevich emphasized that he believed that corrupt Democrats had been behind his arrest, saying, “When they really wanna get you, they’ll just keep trying you, and they’ll get their judge who to work with them, and they’ll they’ll ultimately convict you as they did me by using unlawful standards to criminalize things that are legal in politics and government.”
After Blagojevich defended himself and told Rogan he was not guilty of corruption, he appeared on Breitbart on April 26, 2025, and was asked by host Matthew Boyle if he would consider “running as a Republican, a MAGA, America First Republican, for the U.S. Senate in Illinois?” In response, Blagojevich said, “Never say never.” He added, “It’d be quite a story, wouldn’t it? You know, coming out of prison after eight years and then returning to Washington and becoming a United States Senator.”
Continuing his response to Boyle, Blagojevich reiterated that he was innocent, saying, “I’d like to say to your listeners: I didn’t break a law across the line or take a penny.” He added, “When people ask me, ‘What is my greatest accomplishment as governor?’ I used to think it was providing affordable health care to every child in Illinois.”
"*" indicates required fields
Near the conclusion of the interview, Blagojevich spoke supportively of the MAGA movement, comparing his own values to those of President Trump. He then told Boyle, “I’ve come a long way. And through the grace of God, I’m in a place where, one day, so long ago, I was walking into prison for political things Obama started. And here I am, all those years later — after President Trump rescued me from prison, pardoned me — answering a question from a serious guy like you about running for the United States Senate. I’ve come a long way.”
Watch Blagojevich try to clear his name:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video