{"id":1082340,"date":"2021-12-03T23:14:03","date_gmt":"2021-12-04T04:14:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1082340"},"modified":"2021-12-03T23:14:05","modified_gmt":"2021-12-04T04:14:05","slug":"exclusive-blagojevich-the-democrat-political-establishment-very-fearful-of-what-i-know-and-what-i-can-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-blagojevich-the-democrat-political-establishment-very-fearful-of-what-i-know-and-what-i-can-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive \u2014\u00a0Blagojevich: \u2018The Democrat Political Establishment Very Fearful of What I Know and What I Can Say\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fexclusive-blagojevich-the-democrat-political-establishment-very-fearful-of-what-i-know-and-what-i-can-say%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1082340&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Rod-Blagojevich-closeup-press-conference-getty-640x335-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\"><span>Ex-Democrat Illinois governor turned \u201cTrumpocrat\u201d Rod Blagojevich said he believes current Gov. J.B.&nbsp;Pritzker tried to keep him in jail because the Democrat establishment is \u201cafraid of what he knows\u201d and \u201cwhat [he] will say soon.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In a video obtained exclusively by Breitbart News,&nbsp;<\/span><span>Blagojevich, who was Illinois governor from 2003 to 2009, can be heard talking about his relationship with the current governor, some of the events leading up to his time in federal prison, and his standing with the party he left behind.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Blagojevich, who<em> Chicago Magazine<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagomag.com\/news\/why-cant-we-quit-rod-blagojevich\/\">characterized<\/a> as \u201creal-life cartoon character, popular culture\u2019s best example of a bombastic, narcissistic, devious politician since the fictional Senator Claghorn,\u201d served 7.5 years of a 14-year sentence in a Colorado federal prison after being impeached and accused of trying to sell former President Barack Obama\u2019s vacated Senate seat while he was governor, among other charges.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cHe charmed everyone but the General Assembly that impeached him and the jury that convicted him at his federal trial,\u201d <em>Chicago Magazine<\/em>&nbsp;reported.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The main charges surrounding the accusation were eventually vacated by the&nbsp;Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, though his sentence remained notably lengthy, and his request for Supreme Court review of his case was rejected twice.&nbsp;<\/span><span>Former President Trump was his final hope, and in a highly controversial move, Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/politics\/ct-viz-blagojevich-legal-timeline-htmlstory.html\">commuted<\/a> his sentence.&nbsp;<\/span><span>Blagojevich went home on February 18, 2020 to his wife and children, and his supervised release officially ended in June 2021.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>Blagojevich, whose story has regained public interest partly because of the release of Hulu\u2019s new four-part miniseries <em>Being Blago<\/em>, was the speaker at the Arts and Ideas Exchange Speakers Series on Wednesday night at the Railway Exchange Building in Chicago, Illinois, the city where he grew up. In front of a room full of seated, attentive dinner guests in a hall laden with Christmas trees, red ribbons, and wreaths, the ex-governor blasted&nbsp;Pritzker for reportedly calling Trump \u201cnot once, but twice\u201d requesting to keep him behind bars.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJ.B. called Trump not once, but twice, joining with most Republicans to say, \u2018Keep him in, don\u2019t let him out. Keep him in, don\u2019t let him out,&#8217;\u201d he told the attendees, his voice echoing and his hands moving excitedly as he recounted the story.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2026.<span>Why did he do it? \u201d he continued, before foreshadowing his willingness to expose the underbelly of his former party: <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"11\">\n<p><span>I truly believe its because J.B. Pritzker, Governor Pritzker and some of the Democratic political establishment is very fearful. They\u2019re very fearful of what I know, and what I can say, and what I\u2019m likely to say, and what I will say soon. That\u2019s why I think that he did that.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>Blagojevich also quipped that if anyone would try to sell a Senate seat, it would be Pritzker, who allegedly called the former governor asking to be considered for the seat at the time.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"8.9485530546624\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Former Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realBlagojevich?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@realBlagojevich<\/a> tells audience in Chicago that the idea that he would try and sell Obama\u2019s high profile Senate seat and get away with it is preposterous. Said if he wanted to sell the Senate seat, JB Pritzker is your guy. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/298EAGNv2X\">pic.twitter.com\/298EAGNv2X<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Mark Vargas (@MarkAVargas) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MarkAVargas\/status\/1466543547323240451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 2, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cOk, by the way, if you want to sell the Senate seat, you\u2019ve got your guy,\u201d he said, drawing chortles from various guests in the crowd.<br \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201c\u2026We had a nice relationship, and then calamity and [I] never heard from him again,\u201d he said.<br \/><\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>Democrat strategist Justin Horwitz <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/radio\/2020\/02\/22\/democrat-strategist-justin-horwitz-democrats-turn-rod-blagojevich-backfire\/\">said<\/a> during an appearance on <em>Breitbart News Saturday<\/em> in 2020 that the Democrats\u2019 turn on Blagojevich will \u201cbackfire.\u201d Horwitz, who is from Illinois, said that many people outside of the state do not realize that Blagojevich was \u201can incredibly popular governor\u201d and that the Democrats\u2019 opposition to his commutation would come back to bite them in the future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat people don\u2019t realize is that in Illinois this is going to backfire on Democrats because Rod Blagojevich is not only an incredibly talented and charismatic speaker, and now he\u2019s going to be campaigning with the Republicans, but what he got done in Illinois,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeniors and the disabled were riding the bus for free \u2014 over 275,000 people. He established the All Kids program, which gave over 400,000 kids health care, making Illinois the first state in the nation to provide affordable and comprehensive health care to all children. We have led the nation in providing preschool access for all three- and four-year-olds with his Preschool for All program. This was a very popular governor who got caught saying things that, frankly, other politicians do all the time, and it was unfortunate to see all the Democrats who were calling for the commutation of his sentence to immediately backtrack after President Trump did it,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>Blagojevich <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2020\/02\/19\/rod-blagojevich-im-a-trumpocrat\/\">emerged from prison<\/a> a self-avowed \u201cTrumpocrat\u201d after Trump commuted his sentence, and he thanked the president for being kind to him \u2014 even when members of his former party were not.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s got obviously a big fan in me, if you\u2019re asking me what my party affiliation is, I\u2019m a Trumpocrat,\u201d Blagojevich said to reporters in the Denver airport after he was released.<\/p>\n<p>Both the former governor and former president seem to view themselves as sinking in the same swamp that manipulates the political system to eliminate inconvenient players from the game. Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/crime\/2019\/08\/08\/donald-trump-leaning-pardoning-former-illinois-gov-rod-blagojevich\/\">reportedly said<\/a> in 2018:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"9\">\n<p>I thought he was treated unbelievably unfairly. He was given close to 18 years in prison. And a lot of people thought it was unfair, like a lot of other things \u2014 and it was the same gang, the Comey gang and all these sleazebags that did it. And his name is Rod Blagojevich.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>After pardoning him in 2020, Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2020\/02\/18\/donald-trump-commutes-democrat-gov-rod-blagojevichs-jail-sentence\/\">reiterated<\/a> the sentiment, saying Blagojevich was prosecuted by \u201cthe same people, Comey, Fitzpatrick, the same group\u201d that prosecuted him, and acknowledged that even though the governor was a Democrat, he deserved release from prison.<\/p>\n<p>Blagojevich, who to this day insists he did nothing wrong, likened himself to the former president during an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2020\/03\/07\/exclusive-rod-blagojevich-explains-why-he-is-a-trumpocrat-democrats-have-abandoned-american-workers-black-voters\/\">interview<\/a> with Breitbart News soon after his release.&nbsp;<b><\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fact that President Trump is getting so much pushback and the opposition is so determined to destroy him\u2014and that raises a whole bunch of other issues, and I\u2019m also an expert witness on this and how when you go down and try to shake things up and change things the political establishment comes after you and destroys you personally\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on&nbsp;<a class=\"x5l\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/katherineeeeee2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">Twitter<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ex-Democrat Illinois governor turned \u201cTrumpocrat\u201d Rod Blagojevich said he believes current Gov. J.B.\u00a0Pritzker tried to keep him in jail because the Democrat establishment is \u201cafraid of what he knows\u201d and &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1082340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1082340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1082340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1082340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1082340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1082340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1082340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}