He was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat in Illinois that was vacated by Barack Obama upon his election to the presidency. After two trials, Blagojevich was convicted in 2011 on 17 out of 20 corruption charges including wire fraud, attempted extortion, and bribery related to the Senate seat sale. He was acquitted on one count, and the jury was unable to reach a verdict on two others. Judge James B. Zagel emphasized the erosion of public trust in government as a significant harm.
Blagojevich appealed his conviction, with some counts being overturned by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in 2015, but his sentence was upheld. His sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump in February 2020, leading to his release from prison after serving about eight years.
Overall, there haven't bene very many convictions and imprisonments of crooked pols. It's amazing that in the most crooked state, Illinois, Blagojevich was convicted. He must have screwed up really bad in Illinois politics to get convicted and sentenced.
We need a lot more convictions citing Judge Zagel's "erosion of public trust in government as a significant harm."
Before that was ABSCAM in 1981, when seven Senators (six Democrat and one Republican) were convicted of bribery. Sen. Harrison A. Williams (D-NJ) served three years in prison. Rep. Frank Thompson (D-NJ) served two years in prison. Rep. John Jenrette (D-SC) served 13 months in prison. Rep. Raymond Lederer (D-PA) served 10 months in prison. Rep. Michael Myers (D-PA) served 3 years in prison. Rep. John M. Murphy (D-NY) served 18 months in prison. Rep. Richard Kelly (R-FL) served 13 months in prison.
-PJ