blagojevich was caught on wiretaps calling the seat bleeping golden. here's president trump a short time ago talking about his decision. >> he served eight years in jail. that's a long time. and i watched his wife on television. i don't know him very well, i met him a couple times, he was on for a short while on the apprentice years ago, seemed like a very nice person, don't know him, but he served eight years in jail. that's a long time to go. many people disagree with the sentence, he's a democrat, he's not a republican. it was a prosecution by the same people -- comey, fitzpatrick, the same group. >> not to mention, robert mueller was the fbi director during the investigation. trump also pardoned bernard carri carrick, michael millkin, and eddie debartolo jr. joining me now, rick pearson who has covered illinois and national politics for more than 30 years, and certainly knows the rod blagojevich story backward and forward. what's your reaction? >> i'm surprised. we've seen in the past that trump has used and dangled that prospect that i would relea

of rod blagojevich. he searched eight years in jail. it's a long time. i watched his wife on television. i don't know him very well. i've met him a couple times. he was on a short while "the apprentice." seems like a very nice person. i don't know him. he served eight years in jail. he's a democrat, he's not a republican. it was a prosecution by the same people, comey, fitzpatrick, the same group. very far from his children. they're growing older. they're going to high school now and they rarely get to see their father outside of an orange uniform. i saw that and i did commute his sentence. so he'll be able to go back home with his family after serving eight years in jail. that i my opinion. and in the opinion of many others. >> the trump also pardoned former new york city bernard kerik, a close associate of rudy giuliani. kerik pleaded guilty to eight felony charges including tax fraud and lying to u.s. officials. and the junk bond king michael milken was also pardoned. milken pleaded in 1990 to conspir

blagojevich, in the case of blagojevich i don't doubt that he was part of the cesspool of corruption in chicago but it looks like he was singled out and targeted, the penalty grossly disproportionate. the i think trump is saying i'm not going to pardon blagojevich is not that he didn't do something wrong, but he got something that was far in excess of what he should have gotten. >> martha: i want to be really clear, that's what we are talking about, does the punishment fit the crime? i think everyone in america wants to know if they do something wrong the punishment will fit the crime and patty blagojevich pointed out officer jason van dyke got a six year nine month sentence for second-degree murder in the fatal on-duty shooting of teenager like juan mcdonald which everyone i think remembers, he got six years and nine months, her husband got 14 years, for supposedly trying to sell obama's senate seat. you think there might be more motivation in terms of what else might be uncovered here. >> when he first came out there was a lot of reporting to the effect that there was a lot of chic

. >> that's former governor rod blagojevich back home after his release from prison. that's him with the mane of silver hair we're used to seeing dyed brown. >> i feel great. >> how are you? >> what do you say to trump? >> thank you. i'm profoundly grateful. >> the longtime grateful calling himself a trump-ocrat. jeremy diamond filed this report from california. >> reporter: good morning. president trump on tuesday issuing a series of high-profile pardons and commutations. the president once again wielding that pardon power that he has really relished using at a number of points during his presidency. this time to reward several political allies and their friends who have been lobbying the president, in some cases for years, to follow through with these actions. there were 11 total pardons and commutations that the president issued on tuesday. a few especially high-profile ones that include bernie carrick, former new york police department commissioner, political ally of the president's, as well as a longtime friend and associate of rudy giuliani's. the president's pe

the most notable is perhaps the former illinois governor rod blagojevich. he was serving a 14-year prison sentence on bribery and corruption charges after he essentially tried to sell former president barack obama's senate seat back in 2008. now the president explained why he actually moved forward with some of these pardons and commutations. and it's all about who he talked to. listen -- >> oftentimes pretty much all the time i really rely on the recommendations of people that know them. we have bernie kerick, we have miken who's gone around and done an incredible job for the world with all of his research on cancer. and he's done this and he suffered greatly. he paid a big price. paid a very tough price, but he's done an incredible job. and yeah, these are all people that you have to see the recommendations. i rely on recommendations. >> reporter: and that highlights the unconventional way in which the president has wielded that pardon power. in many cases, the president relied on political allies, but in some cases it was also television. rod blagojevich

today trump explained the reasons for these decisions. >> fraud, blagojevich, he served eight years in jail. that's a long time. bernie kerik, a man who had many recommendations from a lot of good people. we have mike milken, who's gone around and done an incredible job for the world with all of his research on cancer, and he's done this, and he suffered greatly. he paid a big price, paid a very tough price. >> trump also pardoned david safavian convicted in the jack abramoff scandal, and edward debartolo, who covered up corruption involving the former governor of louisiana, edwin edwards. trump's acts of clemency are raising the possibility he'll do the same again for roger stone, paul manafort, or michael flynn. today the president was asked about his intentions regarding mr. stone. >> are you planning to pardon roger stone? >> i haven't given it any thought. in the meantime, he's going through a process. >> "the new york times" has this on this topic. quote, in conversations with advisers, mr. trump has raised the prospect of commuting the sentence of roger stone. and some democrats

, the president tweeted that rob blagojevich did not sell the seat, and he served prison and served years in prison and so with the -- and first of all, he didn't, but he tried to. >> he could not find a buyer. >> and so the criminal complaint is quote, conspiring to sell the senate seat, and second of all, this idea, and we heard it from the president's defenders, the ukraine scandal that the idea that somebody attempts to commit a crime and fails and therefore it is not a crime. >> right. there is no question here what he tried to do here. and so when he rolled out the first batch of pardons is that he relishes that pardon power, because it is kind of the singular power, this authority that the president has that he is virtuallin chey unchecked an congress can't do anything, and he can commute and pardon all of the sentences he wants, and that is why he is enjoying the power. you can see the influence of fox news can have over, you know, illinois republicans who know him, and his crime well, and they had been pleading with him for a bert patter part of the y saying, don't do that and th

>>> 24 hours after being set free by president trump, former governor rod blagojevich in front of the cameras. what he's now declared after being freed. >>> just in tonight, after that horrific crash at the daytona 500, this image late today. ryan newman leaving the hospital with his two daughters. >>> the frightening and deadly plunge. the car right off the ferry with two women inside. what we've learned tonight. this happened right off south florida. the car sinking 50 feet. >>> bracing for temperatures going down. wind chills, minus 17 in minneapolis, minus 3 in chicago. new york city, boston bracing next. and amid the emergency already tonight, now dangerous rains expected from texas to the carolinas. rob times all of this out. >>> there is major news tonight in the case of the new york city college student murdered in the park. >>> the surveillance tonight showing two married police officers offduty, jumping into action, taking on a robber on their date night. >>> and the news from elton john tonight. >>> good evening and it's great to have you with us here on this wednesday nigh

today trump explained the reasons for these decisions. >> fraud, blagojevich, he served eight years in jail. that's a long time. bernie kerik, a man who had many recommendations from a lot of good people. we have mike milken, who's gone around and done an incredible job for the world with all of his research on cancer, and he's done this, and he suffered greatly. he paid a big price, paid a very tough price. >> trump also pardoned david s convicted in the jack abram off skofl, and debartolo. trump's acts of clemency are raising the possibility he'll do the same again for roger stone, paul manafort, or michael flynn. today the president was asked about his intentions regarding mr. stone. >> are you planning to pardon roger stone? >> i haven't given it any thought. in the meantime, he's going through a process. >> "the new york times" has this on this topic. quote, in conversations with advisers, mr. trump has raised the prospect of commuting the sentence of roger stone. and some democrats say they can see how this plays out. >> he's trying to create a lot of noise. he's doing a lot of p

in this tweet from last summer the president wrote "rod blagojevich, former governor of illinois, was sentenced to 14 years in prison. he has served seven years. many people have asked that i study the possibility of commuting his sentence in that it was a very severe one." white house staff is continuing

charlie: blagojevich, think about who was the prosecutor on blagojevich. it was comey's best friend, that dude fitzgerald, the guy from chicago, and this has got to be in the back of trump's mind, i'm going to stick it to comey's best friend, his adviser. i think his name is michael fitzgerald, he was u.s. attorney in chicago, for illinois, that district of illinois. he was the guy that brought the case against blagojevich and it's got to be that he's looking to jam it into comey and fitzgerald. that's what blagojevich is about. i think bernie is like an outpouring of people that i know that know trump and know bernie, said mr. president, just consider what he did. it wasn't -- it was -- neil: he was police commissioner during the whole 9/11 thing. charlie: not only that. what he did was so picayune, the guy didn't deserve to go to jail. neil: one of the things this tees up is the possibility the president could do the same for roger stone, for michael flynn. he's been very busy with pardons and all. they normally happen frenetically at the end of an admin

today the president shed more light on why he freed rod blagojevich from prison. tweeting rod blagojevich served eight years in prison with many remaining. he paid a big price. another comey, and gang deal. at the white house, ktvu, fox 2 news. >>> coming up after two days of deliberations, still no verdict in the harvey weinstein trial. we'll tell you what the jury asked of the judge today. >> and police in the east bay asking the public for help after a woman was injured early this morning in hayward. i work hard and i want my money to work hard too. so i use my freedom unlimited card. even when i'm spending, i'm earning 1.5% cash back on everything i buy. earning on my favorite soup... got it. earning on that eclair. don't touch it. don't touch it yet. let me get the big one. nope. this one? nope. this one? no. let me get them all. i'm gonna get them all. it's just the basics. can you double bag this right here? earn 1.5% cash back on everything you buy with freedom unlimited. can you also tell me what it is? chase. make more of what's yours. try to win by atta

pardons to almost a dozen felons many of them are high-profile including former illinois governor rob blagojevich and former new york city police commissioner bernard kerik. those granted clemency had been convicted on charges ranging from defrauding the federal government to theft. >>> a new case of coronavirus has surfaced in napa, california. a second case is also under investigation there. patients were evacuated from the quarantined cruise ship in japan. 14 american passengers tested positive after they were allowed to leave the ship. there's now at least 29 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the u.s. >>> the ongoing war in syria is taking a terrible toll on the people who live there. since december 900,000 civilians have been forced to flee syria and russian bombs in the northwest. most are women and children. a top u.n. official calls the situation cruel beyond belief.

. >>> rod blagojevich calling himself a freed political prisoner. i'm matt flynn live outside blagojevich's home in chicago. >>> federal immigration agents adduced of breaking state law. the arrests made at the sonoma county courthouse, and what the people taken into custody were wanted for. >>> also a man accused of trying to rape a woman who was doing push ups in the middle of a group workout class. what good samaritans did to help rescue the woman. huge tax breaks for the rich, while the middle-class continues to struggle. that's what happens when billionaires are able to control the political system. our campaign is funded by the working people of this country, and those are the people that i will represent. no more tax breaks for billionaires. we are going to guarantee health care to all people and create up to 20 million good paying jobs to save this planet. i'm bernie sanders and i approve this message because we need an economy that works for all of us, not just wealthy campaign contributors. bi thougin that moment. illiant that works for al

. >>> former illinois governor rod blagojevich calling himself a freed political prisoner, following clemency for president trump. his words for the president coming up. >>> plus, all eyes on michael bloomberg in his first democratic debate. up next, we're going to break down how the candidates may tackle the issues. i work hard and i want my money to work hard too. so i use my freedom unlimited card. even when i'm spending, i'm earning 1.5% cash back on everything i buy. earning on my favorite soup... got it. earning on that eclair. don't touch it. don't touch it yet. let me get the big one. nope. this one? nope. this one? no. let me get them all. i'm gonna get them all. it's just the basics. can you double bag this right here? earn 1.5% cash back on everything you buy with freedom unlimited. can you also tell me what it is? chase. make more of what's yours. leadership that makes a difference. vo: a great president and an effective mayor. obama: he's been a leader throughout the country for the past twelve years, mr. michael bloomberg is here. vo: together they worked to combat gun

disgraced former illinois governor rod blagojevich freed from prison tuesday night after the president commuted his sentence. one of 11 people granted clemency by president trump who campaigned on a promise to drain the swamp. it includes a close friend of rudy giuliani, bernard kerik who was proposed for homeland security secretary before he pleaded guilty to tax fraud and making false statement served t before being released in 2013. joining me now, peter baker, chief white house correspondent for the "new york times" and jonathan lemire. peter baker, first to you. bernard kerik, such close connections, he was even in business with rudy giuliani in recent years. let's talk about that and how he gets to the president and why he got to the president for this pardon. >> right, i think that's one of the things you see is the commonality of most of these recipients yesterday is they had a connection to the president, one way or the other, they had an in. and the in for bernard kerik was rudy giuliani. rudy giuliani is also the one who got him appointed or nominated at one point to prosecu

blagojevich was once a contestant on mr. trump's show, "celebrity apprentice." >> president trump tweeted this photo of eddie debartolo jr. moments after he pardoned the former owner of the 49ers. he pled guilty to failing to report a felony in a bribery case in 1998. he did not serve prison time but the nfl forced him to give up control of the team. the niners won five super bowls during his tenure. a group of former 49ers joined him at the white house. his supporters say the pardon could open leadership that makes a difference. vo: a great president and an effective mayor. obama: he's been a leader throughout the country for the past twelve years, mr. michael bloomberg is here. vo: together they worked to combat gun violence, and again to improve education for every child. obama: i want to thank the mayor of this great city, mayor bloomberg, for his extraordinary leadership. i share your determination to bring this country together to finally make progress for the american people. bloomberg: i'm mike bloomberg, and i appro

former illinois governor rod blagojevich is now a free man. he walked out of prison after the president commuted his 14-year prison sentence for trying to sell the senate seat vacated by president obama. >> i'm fighting against a corrupt criminal justice system that often prosecutes people who did nothing wrong. show no mercy. and who are in positions that have no accountability. >> he served eight years in jail. it's a long time. and i watched his wife on television. i don't know him very well. i met him a couple of times. he was on for a short while on "the apprentice" years ago. seemed like a very nice person. >> former san francisco 49ers owner eddie debartolo jr. was among those who received a full pardon for his conviction in a gambling fraud scandal. president trump tweeted his congratulations in a collage of photos showing debartolo at the white house with his family and several nfl greats, including jerry rice and jim brown. >>> breaking overnight, sources say attorney general barr is considering resigning over president trump's tweet

then there's former illinois governor rod blagojevich. let's play the tape. >> i've got this thing and it's [ bleep ] golden. and i'm just not giving it up for [ bleep ] nothing. >> all right. convicted of not having a potty mouth but of trying to sell former president obama's senate seat. >> like, literally trying to sell the president-elect's senate seat. and a whole other list of really sundry crimes. look. president trump yesterday made it very clear where he stands. and he's been consistent about this. if you appeal to him via fox news, if you are a corrupt businessman, a reality show star who's done time in the slammer or sycophant, you got a good chance of getting a pardon or commutation. this gives a green light to this kind of behavior. it normalizes it. and it does set the stage for future pardons down the road. make no mistake, he's changing the standards. >> he did explain the deep thought process about this years ago. here it is. here's what the president said. quote, i watched his wife on television, end quote. that was the

, patty. >> we have commuted the sentence of rod blagojevich. he served eight years in jail. it's a long time. and i watched his wife on television. >> joining us to discuss, john avlon, cnn senior political analyst and joseph moreno. mike also is with us, former chairman of the house intelligence committee. mike rogers, let me begin with you because there are a number of republicans, even allies of the president in the state of illinois, five of them, i believe yesterday, dismayed to see, you know, the commutation of a sentence for blagojevich and also the way the president explained it. do you join them? do you understand these? >> well, i was an fbi agent in chicago, and saw a lot of corruption cases pass through that office. and by the way, a lot of governors, both republicans and democrats, went to jail in that period. it was a strange time. i do worry about the sending the message to a culture that is already inclined to believe they're entitled to make a little extra money by being an elected official. that just concerns me when the presi

up next, blagojevich says he has got to find a job. tucker? >> tucker: matt finn for us in chicago tonight. thanks, matt. speaking of prison, roger stone is scheduled to be sentenced tomorrow in federal court. he faces as you know nine years in prison. effectively the rest of his life for lying to congress during the course of the mueller investigation. like the russia collusion fantasy itself, stone's prosecution was wholly political. it was a shocking insult to the american tradition of equal justice. obama appointed judge amy behrman jackson an open democratic partisan allowed a former congressional candidate, a democrat with a history of attacking stone to run the jury in the case. then judge jackson stripped stone of his first amendment rights. she threatened to send him to jail if he tried to defend himself in public. that's why roger stone isn't on this show tonight. you go to prison for it. the whole thing is enough to shake your faith in our justice system unfortunately. president trump could end this travesty in an instant with a par

i just want to know there from blagojevich, wouldm him but to hold a press conference as he did today is th? it's really just interesting. the charges are very serious, you know, you have everything from like as you said, the white collar crime. you have corruption, obstruction of justice, tax evasion, lying to white house officials, medicare fraud, extortion, and these are really white collar crimes. people who have been -- who were charged, convicted, in some cases pleaded guilty to a whole host of crimes really just essentially gaming the system, and then when you look at some of the people, obviously you have blagojevich who really is the epitome when you think of it of corruption. this is a guy who was charged, convicted by a jury for essentially selling a seat. it was the senator's seat, then senator barack obama, when he became president his seat opened up, and then rod blagojevich decided he was going to try to profit off of that essentially saying -- he was caught on a wiretap saying i'm not just giving it up for nothing. i'm going to do it, and i can always use it. and then

the president would do the same for rod blagojevich, former governor of illinois. bernie kerik as well, a fixture in new york city where you are. after that, moments ago we also learned michael milkin also received a pardon. those four will grab a lot of spotlight whether you're in san francisco, new york, in the investment world, sports world, whatever corner you might touch. maybe you recognize one of those names but i would also point out, charles, the white house says says 11 different individuals today have been granted a pardon or sentence commutation, in total today by president trump. this comes as the president is set to head out west. he is currently aboard air force one for a four-day, four-state stop out to the west coast and one of those stops that the president is going to make is in nevada in a couple days which he will take place in a prisoner graduation program. the point there being, charles, the president long touted criminal justice reform and sort of the need to overhaul the thinking of the criminal justice system. and today, as the president i

here's what blagojevich said as he walked free in the denver airport. >>your first taste ally be on the outside to say. in a long time. and finally grateful. it's a profound and everlasting gratitude. it didn't have to do this is a republican president i was a democratic governmenti have a lot more to >>the president have made it clear that he saw similarities between the efforts to investigate him and those who took down blagojevich as he put it the move though being criticized by some republicans and so as well as other current illinois governor they say that setting agojevich free was a mistake blagojevich is promising again as he just said that he will have a lot more to say in a news conference tomorrow. >>other news tonight, the national weather service posting this picture on twitter today. it's a map of the snow water content of the snowpack from colorado into california and we have another picture showing what it looked like a one year ago a lot more ofthe deep color, their chief meteorologist lawrence karnow is here with more on the snowpack l

the reality is blagojevich did try to sell the seat. white house officials say the president is just being compassionate. >> the fact is the president is clearly against excessive sentencing. >> reporter: that's not how the president sounded when he kaled for the death penalty for drugs last week. >> states with strong penalty for drug dealers don't have a drug problem. >> reporter: lawyers for julian assange are claiming that mr. trump offered a pardon in exchange for help in the russia investigation. a deal the attorney said would have been brokered by dana rorbauker. the white house is blasting it saying the president barely knows him. he's never spoken to him on this subject or any subject. it's a complete fabrication and a total lie. that's not quite accurate as the president did meet with him in april 2017. right after he defended mr. trump on fox news. >> it's a total brouhaha over nothing. the bottom line is that the russians are not being accused -- even accused of getting involved and changing the course of the campaign. >> re

if i had the ability to vote, i'd vote for him. >> reporter: blagojevich was one of several people granted clemency by president trump yesterday at the urging of friends and supporters. among them, construction company owner paul pogue, who pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return. he and his family donated more than $200,000 to the president's re-election campaign and the republican party. >> all right, as news continues to come in on this, jon karl live at the white house tonight. and jon, the president was asked in the last 24 hours, in fact, if another pardon would be coming. will he pardon roger stone, who will be sentenced tomorrow. >> reporter: well, david, roger stone was seen leaving florida today, coming here to washington for his sentencing tomorrow mo pe about apardon. offeredt answ, h has talked stone, said at,heay he p way he's even attacked the judge in this case, it sure sounds like the president is gearing up for a parton. david? >> jon karl with us again tonight. thank you. >>> we're also following a breaking headline overseas tonight from germany. several people are r

. >>> also new overnight, rod blagojevich walks free. >> i made a whole bunch of mistakes. >> the disgraced former governor serving time for corruption gets his sentence commuted by president trump. what he plans to do now. >>> developing overnight, a car plunges off a ferry in florida. divers race into the water trying to save two women trapped inside. >>> plus, the new battle royale. what queen elizabeth is now expected to tell harry and meghan. >>> the new trend at department stores. secondhand clothes. how customers are cashing in. >>> and from the shocking sticker price for these fancy oreo cookies to the date night these off-duty cops will never forget to a special music milestone. ♪ take on me >> all the trending stories for your wednesday morning. ♪ take me on ♪ take on me . >>> good wednesday morning, everyone. thank you for joining us. we begin with that breaking news overnight about attorney general william barr. >> yes, sources say barr discussed possibly resigning if president trump continues to tweet about the justice department's criminal investigations. >> all of this

. >> greg, when it comes to the blagojevich pardon specifically, which patrick is talking about, along with others in his comment. the white house put out in a statement that democrats, dick durbin, jesse jackson, eric holder had all supported shortening blagojevich's sentence. that's what the white house put out. when the president fwaktd, he made it about himself and his enemies. he said it was fitzpatrick, the same group. fitzpatrick being patrick fitzgerald. for him, it's personal. >> yeah. the fact that there may be some bipartisan support for some of these commuteations, it looks like it is about settling scores and granting political favors more than doing justice. >> every case is different. jack johnson pardoned from a few months ago. that was legitimate. i supported in the nevada legislature a few years ago a resolution to, we documented a resolution urging obama to pardon jack johnson. unfortunately that didn't happen. so there are among these pardons some that might make sense. the problem is overwhelmingly they looked political. and i should remind you. all of these people

blagojevich got 14 years, you can make an argument it is too long. but he only sees that when it is applied to wealthy or connected individuals. there are over 13,000 applications spending at the justice kept for pardon. many never will get an answer whether it has been granted, let alone clemency. the numbers sitting in jail deserving clemency versus the number of people he rewards who are wealthy, connected offenders shows you who he thinks deserve justice and who he doesn't. >> even in the case of an unknown person, a person of color, kim kardashian had to ask. >> yes, you have to have a celebrity intercede on your behalf. >> this feels like a preview for pardon for everyone. donald trump is obsessed in undoing what robert mueller found, undoing the fact of russia helping him get elected. apparently the shame of impeachment are so painful he must undo it. it feels like we could see giuliani, you know, prepardoned in advance, so he can't be charged. you are manafort out there. is in any word, any sort of reporting that he might be looking to try to

. >> reporter: tweeting rod blagojevich did not sell the senate seat. true, but he was convicted of trying to profit off the seat barack obama vacated >> i've got this thing and it's [ bleep ] golden and i'm just not giving it up for [ bleep ] nothing. >> reporter: also lawyers for wikileaks founder julian assange are claiming in court that a now former republican congressman in 2017 offered assange a pardon behalf of the president. if assange agreed to say russia was not involved in leaking democratic emails during the 2016 election. nbc news has not obtained the lawyer's full statement that former republican congressman and the white house both disputing assange's lawyer's claims the white house calling it a complete fabrication and a total lie. and today we have learned president trump is expecting the name richard grinel to germany as his acting director of national intelligence. gilroy nel is a long-time political operative and fierce ally of the president's whose divisive facing heavy criticism for his outspokenness. cori >> peter, thank you. and

people who cheat the system, especially in the case of governor blagojevich, mr. milken, using their money and power to cheat the system, swamp creatures given pardon and clemency by the swamp president. >> and the thing so different about this president and previous presidents, there is no shame involved. past presidents have on occasion used the pardon power to benefit people who are shady. they usually do it either on the way out. president clinton did it literally the last day he was in office. >> in the bush inaugural parade when that happened. >> even if they didn't do it on the last day, there is an effort to try to explain away, what you see in front of you is not really what i'm doing, there's other reasons for it. this president doesn't bother with any of that. he puts it all out there at a time that the hypocrisy saying he's trying to drain the swamp doesn't do it. he's just finished being impeached over issues of corruption, he pardons people basically accused of corruption. it's really bald-faced convicted of it and it's really bald-faced. he sort of,

>> oh, absolutely, look, i think -- i'm not fan of rod blagojevich. >> that makes two. >> the bigger issue is he's still not remorseful for what he did and he's on tape saying that, that one is troubling in itself, if you go back to length of the sentence, did it fit the crime, i'm not a criminal expert but discussion analysis about how long it was, you brought this earlier, the idea that chelsea manning who was a trader to the country and undermined national security and put lives at risk didn't get that kind of negative coverage that a guy did who is sleazy and slimy says to you the difference in how -- by the way, blagojevich is a democrat. there's no question that -- by the way, all of it lacks context, if you look at the number of pardons and commutations that trump has done compared to other administrations it's minuscule. >> a lot of people don't know that and the journal hasn't pointed it out. president trump continuing to speak out on it after attorney general bill barr said probably in front of abc cameras that the president is making it impossible to do his job. it's not t

president trump is commuting the 14-year prison sentence of former illinois governor rod blagojevich, calling it "ridiculous." he was impeached and removed from office for corruption. he was convicted of trying to auction off the u.s. senate seat left vacant when barack obama won the presidency. contracting laws are being weighed to speed construction of a wall on the u.s.-mexico border. the move is expected to spark criticism that the trump administration is overstepping its authorities, but similar legal challenges in the past have failed. a viral outbreak that began in china has infected more than 73,000 people globally. the death toll is approaching 1900. one of those fatalities is a senior doctor at a hospital in wuhan, where the outbreak began. united nations secretary-general antonio guterres says the outbreak is " not out of control" but

jesse: the fence had rod blagojevich on tape and that's all she wrote. donald trump parted blago from his sons from 40 years to eat years served. >> i don't know him very well, i met him a couple of times, he was on for a short while on the apprentice years ago and seems a very nice person, i do not know him but he served eight years in jail with a long time to go and many people disagree with the sense, he's a democrat, not a republican. jesse: is pretty clear one of the main reasons hee pardoned hm because he was on celebrity apprentice. >> did you raise money or did you feel it was a conflict. >> people on the other handle this. jesse: joined me now the former governor of illinois, a free man, rod blagojevich. you obvious he paid a big price, you know what you did was wrong, you served your time in a crazy sentence to begin with but that's all in thery b past. did you ever talk to barack obama about the sentence eat, did he have any knowledge about what was going on or not. >> first of all yes a crazy sentence for crimes that are routine politics and

. >> and now he's commuted the sentence of former illinois governor rod blagojevich. is he sending a signal to his friend, roger stone, just sit down, it's okay? plus trump's historic rivalry with barack obama won't quit. he can't quit that guy. he says obama deserve nos credit for improving the economy. the facts say differently. we've got much more to come tonight. stick with us. to severe rheumatoid arthritis. and take. it. on with rinvoq. rinvoq a once-daily pill can dramatically improve symptoms... rinvoq helps tame pain, stiffness, swelling. and for some... rinvoq can even significantly reduce ra fatigue. that's rinvoq relief. with ra, your overactive immune system attacks your joints. rinvoq regulates it to help stop the attack. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious infections and blood clots, sometimes fatal, have occurred as have certain cancers, including lymphoma, and tears in the stomach or intestines, and changes in lab results. your doctor should monitor your bloodwork. tell your doctor about any infections an

outside the blah blagojevich orbit, it was not met the same. congressional republicans, blagojevich is the face of corruption in illinois. that also comes as some have said from the beginning the 14-year sentence it was given was too excessive. >> omar, thank you very much. >> coming up for us, new concerns over the coronavirus as passengers aboard the diamond princess cruise ship are finally ending their quarantine. did the cruise line do enough to contain the virus? cnn speaks to the ceo of the cruise line next. [ applause ] thank you. it's an honor to tell you that liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. i love you! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ pnc bank has technology to help a pnc business line of credit, because sometimes inner peace requires a little external soundproofing. or pnc total auto. a place online to easily find and finance the right car for you. and your passengers. or pnc home insight, to search for a new house within your budget. hopefully with

one of those, former illinois governor rod blagojevich, is back home this morning. want to go back to cecilia vega at the white house with more on that, good morning, cecilia. >> reporter: george, good morning. again. president trump is calling himself the country's chief law enforcement officer and many of these pardons went to high-profile white collar criminals who have ties to the president's inner circle and who have made big donations to his campaigns. overnight disgraced former illinois governor rod blagojevich released from federal prison in colorado. >> hello. nice seeing you guys. >> reporter: cameras catching up to him before he boarded a flight back home. >> you had no inkling at all that this was going to happen? >> no, i did not. >> you had no warning? >> no warning, no. >> reporter: part of president trump's pardon spree that granted clemency to a who's who of big name white collar criminals. >> i'll do anything legal and ethical and honest. >> of course. ♪ money money money >> reporter: the one-time "apprentice" contestant served eight of his 14-ye

that what rod blagojevich is calling himself as his sentence was commuted by the president. stand by to hear his over the top thank you. >>> we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around tr world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room.." vrjts we' >>> we're getting a new window into trump's brazen meddling. a source tells cnn that william barr has told people he's considered resigning over

longtime blagojevich's family says they're thrilled. he'll be coming home. illinois republicans slammed the president's decision calling blagojevich the face of public corruption in illinois now the big question will president trump pardoned his longtime friend roger stone who is facing sentencing in a federal court thursday. >>i haven't given it any thought in the meantime he's going through a process but i think he's been treated very unfairly andy rose kron 4 news meantime, former governor rod blagojevich is back home in illinois tonight, he landed at chicago's o'hare airport. >>about 20 minutes ago around 10 o'clock. here's what he had to say earlier as he walks free in the denver airport. >>your first taste really be on the outside to say in a long time. finally grateful. president trump in. it's a profound and everlasting credit. it didn't have to do this is a republican president i was a democratic government. i have a lot more to >>blagojevich promised again that he'll have a news conference tomorrow and expand on what he had to say tonight. >>well p

the conviction came just m after blagojevich appeared on trump's reality show, "the apprentice." in a state often kno corruption; four of its last 10 gon;rnors have gone to priso blagojovich's sentence was the longest for an illinois polician. chicago mayor lori lightfoot >> this is a man whos theon: governor of our state.te he commcrimes as found by a jury of his peers. cept got to ac responsibility for that. president trump is probably the least credible person to make this decision. >>rangham: in addition to blagojevich's commution, president trump today pardoned seven people, including former new york police commissioner bernie kerik, who served three years for tax aud, and financier michael milken, who peaded guilty to violating u.s. securities laws in 1990. all of today's announcements come after attorney general william barr altered the sentencing recommendation for mr. trums longtime ally, roger stone. he'd been convicted of lying to congress and witness tampering and faced a possible seven to nine years in prison. the president criticized that as barr subsequently said t

. >>> the former governor of illinois rod blagojevich is out of federal prison. he was released from a facility in colorado and returned home speaking with a group of supporters outside of his home this morning. >> headis say thank you to someone who gives you the freedom he didn't have to do this. he is a republican president and i was a democratic governor and doing this does nothing to help his politics. >> rod blagojevich served eight years of a 14 year sentence on corruption charges . president trump granted pardons to 11 people including michael milken, eddie debartolo, jr., and commissioner bernard kerik which were convicted on fraud and corruption charges. president trump did not say if you would pardon roger stone who is scheduled to be sentenced tomorrow. >>> coming up on kpix 5 news at 12:00, a professional snowboarder jumps into action to save people from an avalanche and it is caught on camera. >>> charity is one click away and how technology is making it easier than ever for people to give back. >>> we are in the 50s and the 60s with a beautiful liv

others are in favor of reforming the criminal justice syste of course, blagojevich was involved. robert mueller was theof hea the fbi when he was prosecuted. so i think you can see the belief on donald trump's part of some wrongful or blue clean minded prosecutions. laura: what about the political signalin of this, anthony, coming just days before roger stone, donaldrump's campaign aide, is set tbe sentenced for lying to congress? anthony: wheth this is an effort to throw a lot of pardons and grant clemency just a few days before he could conceivably parted roger stone, and then all of this would pretty much be -- would be forgotten, and maybe roger stone would be thrown into that mix. he was pressed about it, asked about it, on thearmac during that press conference, and he said, "you will have to wait and seur" with the democrats, michael bloomberg is at 19% in nationaloll, not even in a primary or a caucus until super tuesday, andd yet, co he be the centrist alternative to bernie sanders? anthony:t is remarkable the progress that michael bloomberg has made despite the fact he h

jesse: former illinois democratic governor rod blagojevich for trying to sell barack obama peace. [inaudible] jesse: the feds have him on tape and after that that was all she wrote. donald trump commuting his sense to eight serve. >> rod blagojevich, i don't know him very well i've known him for a short while at the apprentice a few years ago he seems a nice person but i do not know him but he served eight years in jail, a long time to go and many people disagree with the sentencing he's a democratic not a republican. jesse: one of the main reasons he pardoned him because he was on celebrity apprentice. >> did you raise money or was it conflict. >> when i get money is because i'm soliciting. >> joining me the former governor of illinois, freeman rod blagojevich. you obviously paid a big price, you know what you did is wrong, you surgery crime, crazy sense to begin with that's all in the past. did you ever talk to barack obama, did he have any knowledge about what was going on or not? >> first of all, a crazy sentence for things that are not crimes and routine politics in that part

governor blagojevich, i do wish you the best. i really am glad for your family that you're out and -- >> i don't know by the way you were asking me questions. i'm sorry, anderson. i appreciate -- >> honestly, look, i have no problem with you getting out. the president can commute whoever he wants. i just think -- i wish you're besmirching prosecutors who actually are no longer in government but prosecutors are important to our system and you are going after the very basis of our justice system which has plenty of problems but, you know, part of the thing is you got out, do you have an obligation to at least admit what you did wrong and you refuse to do that and creating a whole new alternate universe of facts and that may be big in politics today but it's still frankly just bullshit. we got to leave it there. >> it's not bullshit. i lived it all. >> thank you, governor. >> okay, thank you. i apologize for saying bs. i don't usually use that language. >>> a lot more ahead tonight, much of it is breaking news. what the president sa

here's the president earlier. >> we have communed the sentence of blagojevich. he served eight years in jail, he has a long time to go. many people disagree with the sentence. he is a democrat, he is not a republican. it was a prosecution by the same people, comey, fitzpatrick, the same group. >> dana: there was a tweet from bernie sanders. "today trump granted clemency to wall street crooks, corrupt government officials. meanwhile thousands of poor and working-class kids sit in jail for nonviolent drug convictions. this is what a broken and racist criminal justice system looks like." i'm sure this is going to be a topic tomorrow at the debate. it may be what you could do from a legal point of view was explained to people the difference between a commutation and a pardon. >> emily: apart and expunge as a conviction altogether and a commutation just reduces the sentence, usually to time served. basically you're free to go but you will still have the conviction. a pardon is you know longer a convicted felon peer bernie sanders, he's been a legislator for long time

a freed political prisoner >> reporter: -- sgrad former i wi disgraced former illinois governor rod blagojevich. >> president trump is tough and outspoken but also has a kind ocrtrumpoct >> drain the swamp that's what we're doing. >> reporter: today tweeting, rod blagojevich did not sell the senate seat true, but he was convicted of trying to profit off the seat barack obama vacated >> i've got this thing. and it's [ bleep ] golden and i'm just not giving it up for [ bleep ] nothing. >> reporter: also tonight, lawyers for wikileaks founder julian assange are claiming in court that a now former republican congressman in 2017 offered assange a pardon behalf of the president. if assange agreed to say russia was not involved in leaking democratic emails during the 2016 election nbc news has not obtained the lawyer's full statement tonight, that former republican congressman and the white house both disputing assange's lawyer's claims, the white house calling it a complete fabrication and a total lie. and late tonight, president trump is expected to name richard grenell, the ambassador to germany, a

blagojevich offered a 20-minute monologue to reporters outside his chicago home wednesday. he left prison the day before after the president commuted the 14-year sentence he was serving for political corruption. blagojevich, who served in office as a democrat, praised trump as a reformer of a flawed criminal justice system. >> i'm returning home today from a long exile, a freed political prisoner. we want to again express our deepest gratitude to president trump. i'm a trumpocrat. if i have the ability to vote, i'm going to vote for him. >> blagojevich spent eight years behind bars. convicted felons in illinois can vote once they leave prison but they have to register with the state board of elections. >>> breaking overnight, new details in a string of shootings in germany. police say 11 people are dead, including the suspect. gunfire erupted last night at two separate hookah bars just outside of frankfurt. a total of nine people were killed at two locations, at least five others injured. police say the suspect in the killings was found dead in his home along with another b

>> this is what it looked like when blagojevich arrived home. he was also accused of trying to sell president obama's senate seat when mr. obama moved on to the white house. >>> eleven people were pardoned by president trump yesterday. including former 49er commissioner rod caring. also financeir michael milken. several politicians criticized what the president did, but president trump has remained steadfast in that decision. >> the president also granted a pardon to the former own ore of the san francisco 49ers eddie debarto lvpdo jr.. >> tuesday, president trump followed through with su board nant recommendations. he pardoned seven people. former players hail. >> he's done so much in this community. has done so much in nfl football and today is a great day for him. >> debartolo bought the 49ers in the 70s. . >> but in 1998, debartolo was involved in a scandal. >> at the end of the day, his cooperation got him a lot light lighter sentence. . >> he was fined 1 million $1 million and served a 1 year suspension. he sold the team and hasn't been ba