Washington (United States) (AFP) – The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by the former Democratic governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, who gained notoriety by trying to sell the US Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama in 2008.
Blagojevich, 61, is serving a 14-year sentence after being convicted in 2011 of corruption charges related to the attempt to sell the Obama senate seat “to the highest bidder,” as the prosecutor put it.
It was the second time that the Supreme Court has declined to take up an appeal by Blagojevich, effectively confirming a sentence that puts him behind bars until’s 2024.
Obama resigned his US Senate seat representing Illinois after his November 2008 victory in the US presidential elections.
As state governor, Blagojevich had the authority to appoint a replacement to fill the seat until the next elections but a jury found he corruptly sought to trade the appointment for personal gain.
He was arrested a few weeks after the November vote and was then impeached and removed from office by the Illinois state legislature in January 2009.