Illinois House Leader Jim Durkin (R) criticized President Donald Trump on Tuesday for commuting the prison sentence of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D).
Blagojevich began serving his 14-year sentence in 2012 after being convicted on corruption charges, including trying to sell former President Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat.
Durkin said, “We have a massive federal investigation into corruption in the state of Illinois, and this action distracts and dilutes what I think is the proper role of the Department of Justice — to root out corruption. I don’t agree. I was involved first hand with the impeachment efforts. I saw a governor who was rogue on steroids. He was a person who didn’t care about the state of Illinois. He cared about his own ambition. He abused the office, and the legislature did the appropriate thing, the federal courts did the right thing. Not only at the district court level but through the appellate court and also the U.S. Supreme Court, which said his sentence was appropriate.”
He added, “It’s just the celebrity of Rod Blagojevich, which he’s getting this type of relief. And I think it’s wrong and it sends a bad message to people in this country that, you know what, you don’t exactly have to pay your debt to society. I disagree with the president’s actions.”
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