President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he has commuted the sentence of Rod Blagojevich, the disgraced former Illinois governor who is currently serving 14 years in prison on political corruption charges, demonstrating the influence Fox News holds on the president.
Blagojevich was convicted in 2011 on 17 corruption charges. Some involved soliciting bribes in exchange for the U.S. Senate seat vacated upon President Barack Obama’s inauguration, while others dealt with schemes in which he demanded campaign donations in exchange for signing racetrack legislation, approving a transportation project, and approving funding for doctors at a hospital. After exhausting the appeals process, he sought to rehabilitate himself by claiming he had been the victim of overzealous investigators and prosecutors.
Blagojevich’s team followed in the footsteps of other would-be pardon-seekers by pursuing a Fox-centric PR strategy. His wife, Patti Blagojevich, made the rounds on Fox beginning in April 2018, appearing at least seven times on the network’s programming to date. She received a sympathetic platform from Fox hosts including Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, Martha MacCallum, and Jeanine Pirro. These segments were not subtle -- Carlson asked her directly, “If you could speak to the president, what would you say?” And as she responded, the caption “Will Trump intervene in Blagojevich case?” flashed across the screen.
As that strategy played out, Trump hinted to White House correspondents that he was considering commuting Blagojevich’s sentence, saying in May 2018 he was sent to prison merely “for being stupid and saying things that every other politician, you know that many other politicians say.” Fox’s pro-Blagojevich stance continued into 2020. And on Tuesday, Trump formally commuted Blagojevich’s sentence -- then told reporters that he had “watched [Blogojevich’s] wife on television," a clear reference to her Fox appearances.