Rod Blagojevich To Ask President Trump For Early Prison Release
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Former Governor Rod Blagojevich is preparing to formally ask President Donald Trump to release him from prison early.
This comes just days after he penned an op-ed piece in a major newspaper.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports with his appeals and Supreme Court chances over, former Governor Rod Blagojevich is taking his case to the public.
Blagojevich wrote a letter to the Wall Street Journal stating, "Some in the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation are abusing their power to criminalize the routine practice of politics," adding he's in prison "for the routine practice of attempting to raise campaign funds while governor."
"He wrote this for a reader of one, and that reader of one is the President of the United States," stated CBS 2 Legal Analyst, Irv Miller.
Like Blagojevich, President Donald Trump has been openly critical about Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into possible collusion with Russia and other matters.
"It's a disgraceful situation. It's a total witch hunt," said President Donald Trump.
CBS 2 Legal Analyst, Irv Miller, suggests Blagojevich hopes to play on Trump's sympathies, also writing, "When they can't prove a crime, they create one."
"He's talking about the unbridled power of a prosecutor. I mean, come on, what is the President looking at these days?" said Miller.
Blagojevich is six years into his 14 year sentence for trading political actions for campaign money. The President has the power to cut his sentence or pardon him. Patti Blagojevich has appeared on Fox News, pleading the same case.
She said, "If they can bring down my husband, who was the governor of the fifth largest state, for asking for campaign contributions, no one is safe in this country."
Blagojevich's attorney, Len Goodman, says he plans to send his formal petition for a commutation of sentence to the President in the next few weeks.