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Illinois Republicans urge Trump to keep Blagojevich in prison
Earlier DU thread: Trump says he's 'very strongly' considering commuting Rod Blagojevich's sentence
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Source: Politico
Illinois Republicans urge Trump to keep Blagojevich in prison
By MATTHEW CHOI 08/08/2019 07:53 PM EDT Updated 08/08/2019 08:43 PM EDT
Illinois’ delegation of House Republicans on Thursday urged President Donald Trump not to commute the sentence of Rod Blagojevich, the state’s former governor, after the president told reporters he was considering doing so.
In a statement, Reps. Darin LaHood, John Shimkus, Adam Kinzinger, Rodney Davis and Mike Bost said that commuting Blagojevich’s sentence “sets a dangerous precedent and goes against the trust voters place in elected officials.”
“It’s important that we take a strong stand against pay-to-play politics, especially in Illinois where four of our last eight Governors have gone to federal prison for public corruption,” the congressmen wrote.
The state’s Republican delegation previously wrote to Trump in June 2018, also to oppose a presidential commutation of Blagojevich’s sentence. The Thursday statement renewed the call after Trump told reporters a day earlier that he felt Blagojevich’s seven years in prison had been enough.
“I thought he was treated unbelievably unfairly,” Trump said Wednesday. “He’s been in jail for seven years over a phone call where nothing happens.”
-snip-
By MATTHEW CHOI 08/08/2019 07:53 PM EDT Updated 08/08/2019 08:43 PM EDT
Illinois’ delegation of House Republicans on Thursday urged President Donald Trump not to commute the sentence of Rod Blagojevich, the state’s former governor, after the president told reporters he was considering doing so.
In a statement, Reps. Darin LaHood, John Shimkus, Adam Kinzinger, Rodney Davis and Mike Bost said that commuting Blagojevich’s sentence “sets a dangerous precedent and goes against the trust voters place in elected officials.”
“It’s important that we take a strong stand against pay-to-play politics, especially in Illinois where four of our last eight Governors have gone to federal prison for public corruption,” the congressmen wrote.
The state’s Republican delegation previously wrote to Trump in June 2018, also to oppose a presidential commutation of Blagojevich’s sentence. The Thursday statement renewed the call after Trump told reporters a day earlier that he felt Blagojevich’s seven years in prison had been enough.
“I thought he was treated unbelievably unfairly,” Trump said Wednesday. “He’s been in jail for seven years over a phone call where nothing happens.”
-snip-
Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/08/illinois-republicans-blagojevich-trump-1453566
