STATEMENTS. HE SAYS THIS MOMENT IS
LIFE-CHANGING, HE JOINS ME IN
MOMENTS BUT WE BEGIN TONIGHT
WITH THE FORMER GOVERNOR OF
ILLINOIS, ROD BLAGOJEVICH.
IT IS I KNOW VERY SAD -- VERY
HAPPY FOR YOU TO BE HOME, YOUR
FAMILY IS I’M SURE HAPPY TO HAVE
YOU TODAY DURING THAT NEWS
CONFERENCE, YOU CALLED YOURSELF
A TRUMPOCRT, YOU ARE CLEARLY
VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE PRESIDENT
HAS DONE.
HAS DONE. >> MY WIFE AND I, MY TWO
DAUGHTERS ARE ALL VERY GRATEFUL
TO PRESIDENT TRUMP.
HE DIDN’T HAVE TO DO THIS, I WAS
A DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR, HE’S A
REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT, WHAT HE
DID FOR ME TODAY DOESN’T HELP
HIM AT ALL POLITICALLY BUT
PRESIDENT TRUMP IS VERY
DIFFERENT, HE IS DIFFERENT FROM
HIS PREDECESSORS.
HIS PREDECESSORS. THIS IS A PRESIDENT WHO SOLVES
PROBLEMS AND IS FIGHTING TO
BRING ABOUT THE CHANGE OF THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE BEEN
HUNGERING FOR FOR YEARS.
WE WERE PROMISED THAT CHANGE,
THIS IS A PRESIDENT THAT IS
DOING IT.
DOING IT. THE FACT THAT HE GETS SO MUCH
PUSHBACK IS PROOF POSITIVE HE’S
KEEPING HIS PROMISES WERE
PERHAPS OTHERS WHO PROMISED
CHANGE DIDN’T DO THAT.
>> Trace: I KNOW FOR THE PAST
DECADES THAT YOU HAVE DISTANCED
YOURSELF FROM THE
DEMOCRATIC PARTY BUT I WANT TO
PUT UP ON THE SCREEN -- THIS IS
FROM THE ILLINOIS CONGRESSIONAL
REPUBLICAN DELEGATION SAYING
ABOUT THE PRESIDENT’S ACTIONS
QUOTING BLAGOJEVICH AS THE FACE
OF PUBLIC CORRUPTION IN
ILLINOIS, NOT ONCE HAS HE SHOWN
ANY REMORSE FOR HIS CLEAR AND
DOCUMENTED RECORD OF EGREGIOUS
CRIMES THAT UNDERMINE THE TRUST
PLACED IN HIM BY VOTERS.
AS OUR STATE CONTINUES TO
GRAPPLE WITH POLITICAL
CORRUPTION, WE SHOULDN’T LET
THOSE WHO BREACH THE PUBLIC
TRUST OFF THE HOOK.
IS THERE A POINT HERE THAT YOU
SHOULD HAVE SHOWN A LITTLE BIT
OF REMORSE, SOME REGRET THAT YOU
HAVE NOT YET SHOWN?
>> I AGREE WITH THE SENTIMENT
EXPRESSED IN THAT STATEMENT BY
THE ILLINOIS REPUBLICANS BUT
THEY ARE POINTING THAT STATEMENT
AT THE WRONG PLACE.
IT SHOULD BE POINTED AT ME, IT
OUGHT TO BE POINTED AT THOSE
UNCONTROLLED, UNACCOUNTABLE
UNCONTROLLED, UNACCOUNTABLE WALLACE PROSECUTORS WHO DID THIS
TO ME.
TO ME. I BROKE NO LAWS, I CROSSED NO
LIES.
LIES. THEY USED THE STANDARD TO
CONVICT ME THAT IT WAS APPLIED
TO THOSE CONGRESSMEN IN EVERY
U.S. SENATOR, THE SAME RESULT
WOULD’VE HAPPENED TO THEM WHAT
HAPPENED TO ME.
I RAISED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS
LEGALLY AND LAWFULLY COME I
NEVER PROMISED ANYTHING OR
THREATENED ANYONE IN EXCHANGE
FOR CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS.
THE RIGHT TO SEEK CAMPAIGN
CONTRIBUTIONS IS NOT ONLY
NECESSARY AND ROUTINE IN
POLITICS, IT’S ALSO PROTECTED BY
THE CONSTITUTION, IT’S
CONSIDERED THE FIRST AMENDMENT
RIGHT.
RIGHT. WITHOUT A PROMISE OR A THREAT,
THERE IS NO CRIME, THERE’S NO
QUID PRO QUO.
THERE IS NOT IN MY CASE AND I
APPRECIATE WITH THE CONGRESSMAN
ARE SAYING BUT THEY OUGHT TO
POINT THOSE STATEMENTS IN THE
DIRECTION OF THE PROSECUTORS WHO
DID THIS TO ME AND MANY OF WHOM
ARE THE SAME PEOPLE DOING IT TO
PRESIDENT TRUMP.
PRESIDENT TRUMP. >> Trace: I THINK THEY WOULD
POINT TO THE STATEMENT YOU JUST
MADE OF PROOF POSITIVE THAT YOU
DON’T HAVE ANY REGRETS ABOUT
THIS.
THIS. YOU SPENT EIGHT YEARS IN PRISON,
YOU COULD HAVE SPENT 14 AND YOU
LOOK AT SOME OF THE STATEMENTS
YOU MADE BACK IN THE DAY WHEN
YOU TALKED ABOUT THIS THING IS
[BLEEP] GOLDEN AND THE COURT
CONVICTING GO OF TRYING TO SHAKE
DOWN THE CEO OF A CHILDREN’S
HOSPITAL AND THE
CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL WOULD NOT
COMMENT ON YOUR COMMUTATION.
IS THERE NOT EVEN A MODICUM OF
REGRET OF THE WAY YOU HANDLED
THIS?
THIS? THE THINGS THAT YOU DID, THE
THINGS THAT PEOPLE SAID YOU DID
OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN THAT
COURTROOM?
COURTROOM? >> NO, LET ME EXPLAIN THIS.
IF THE PROPER LAW WAS APPLIED TO
MY CASE, NONE OF THOSE THINGS,
NONE OF THE RESULTS THAT
OCCURRED IN MY TWO TRIALS, THEY
CHANGE THE RULES IN THE SECOND
TRIAL AND USED FAKE LAW BY
MOVING LINES TO TAKE HONEST
CONVERSATIONS AND TELL A JURY
THAT THESE THINGS WERE IN
VIOLATION OF LAW.
IF THEY ACTUALLY USE THE
STANDARD TO CONVICT ME THAT THE
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT IN
THE McCORMICK CASE SAID WAS
NOT THE LAW.
THERE WAS NO SHAKEDOWN OF A
CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL, I SENT THAT
HOSPITAL $8 MILLION.
I NEVER THREATENED THEM OR
PROMISE TO THEM, NO ONE EVER
SAID THAT I DID.
WE SOUGHT CAN CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUT
FROM PEOPLE WE HAD SOUGHT THEM
FROM BEFORE.
FROM BEFORE. >> Trace: LET’S GET YOUR
REACTION ON THE OTHER SIDE.
>> THIS IS A MAN WHO’S A
GOVERNOR OF OUR STATE, HE
COMMITTED CRIMES AS FOUND BY HIS
JURY OF OUR PEERS, HE’S GOT TO
ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THAT.
PRESIDENT TRUMP DECIDED TIME
SERVED, EIGHT YEARS IS ENOUGH
AND IT IS WHAT IT IS BUT AS I
SAID, PRESIDENT TRUMP IS
PROBABLY THE LEAST CREDIBLE
PERSON TO MAKE THIS DECISION.
>> Trace: AS WE SAID IN THE
INTRO, THE AMOUNT OF TIME, THE
14 YEARS -- EVERYBODY IN THE
COURT WE WERE COVERING AT THE
TIME SAID THAT IS ASTRONOMICAL
FOR THESE TYPES OF CRIMES BUT
EVERYONE ALSO AGREED THERE
SHOULD HAVE BEEN SOME TIME
SERVED FOR THE WAY YOU CONDUCT
YOURSELF IN OFFICE.
>> IF, IN FACT, I CROSSED A LINE
OR BROKE A LAW OF COURSE I
SHOULD SERVE SOME TIME, BUT I
DIDN’T.
DIDN’T. THEY MOVED THE LINES WITH
CORRUPT INTENT.
CORRUPT INTENT. IT’S DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN WITH
REGARD TO WHAT THEY’VE DONE FOR
PRESIDENT TRUMP.
PRESIDENT TRUMP. THEY ARE TAKING ROUTINE THINGS
AND TRY TO CRIMINALIZE THEM.
WE HAVE A SYSTEM NOW, LET ME
BORROW FROM WHAT SUPREME COURT
JUSTICE FLYER SAID WHERE YOU
HAVE UNCONTROLLABLE PROSECUTORS
WHO HAVE NO ACCOUNTABILITY, WHO
ARE POLITICIZING THEIR POWER AND
USING THEM AGAINST POLITICAL
FIGURES, TAKING ROUTINE THINGS
AND TURNING THEM INTO CRIMES
THAT ARE NOT CRIMES.
THAT IS WHY I CONTINUE TO THIS
DAY TO INSIST ON MY INNOCENCE
BECAUSE I CROSSED NO LINES AND
BROKE NO LAWS.
I WILL TELL YOU HOW I WOULD’VE
LET THE PEOPLE OF ILLINOIS DOWN,
IF I GAVE INTO THAT.
IF I WOULD’VE ALLOWED THESE GUYS
WERE SHAKEDOWN ARTISTS AND GIVEN
TO A LIFE SENTENCE, I WOULD’VE
LET THE PEOPLE OF ILLINOIS DOWN
BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T HIRE ME TO
DO THAT, THEY HIRED ME AS A
GOVERNOR TO FIGHT FOR THE
CONSTITUTION AND THE RULE OF LAW
LAW.
LAW. THIS IS THE LARGER FIGHT.
SO MANY PEOPLE TRIED TO DO WITH
THE MAJOR-LEAGUE LEVEL TO A
REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT WHAT THEY
TRIED DUE TO A DEMOCRATIC
GOVERNOR AND THEY ARE
THREATENING TO TAKE AWAY FROM
ALL OF US OUR RIGHTS TO CHOOSE
OUR LEADERS THROUGH FREE AND
FAIR ELECTIONS.
FAIR ELECTIONS. WHO HIRED THESE PROSECUTORS WHO
ARE COVERED WITH SOVEREIGN
IMMUNITY UNDER THE LAW -- WHERE
IS IT IN THE CONSTITUTION WHO
SAID THEY ARE THE ONES WHO
SHOULD DECIDE WHO SHOULD AND
SHOULD BE IN OFFICE?
I’M NOT IN A POSITION WHERE I
WANT TO ADMIT TO ANYTHING I DID
WRONG BECAUSE I DIDN’T.
I WOULD HAVE DONE WRONG IF I
GAVE INTO THIS.
>> Trace: YOU HAVE SAID AGAIN
AND AGAIN THE PRISON WAS A
HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE AND YOU WANT
FIGHTING FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM, I THINK THAT IS WITH THE
PRESIDENT CONSIDERED IN MAKING
THIS DECISION.
THIS DECISION. >> Trace: I WANT TO BRING BACK
IN FORMER ILLINOIS
GOVERNOR ROD BLAGOJEVICH TO GIVE
HIM THE FINAL WORD ON THIS, WE
LOST HIS EARPIECE A SHORT TIME
AGO -- THE FINAL WORD TO YOU
MOAT WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD
FOR YOU?
FOR YOU? I KNOW YOU ARE BACK WITH YOUR
FAMILY, IS IT REALITY TELEVISION
AGAIN?
AGAIN? IS IT BOOKS, ARE YOU GOING TO
LAY LOW?
LAY LOW? >> I NEED TO FIND A JOB.
AT SOME POINT, I NEED TO START
WORKING AND PROVIDING FOR MY
FAMILY AND CONTRIBUTING TO THE
EDUCATION OF MY CHILDREN AND TO
MY WIFE WHO HAS WORKED SO HARD
AND SO LONG ALL BY HERSELF.
CLEARLY YOU HAVE TO MAKE A
LIVING BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY
THIS.
THIS. I KNOW WHAT I’M SAYING IS TRUE
AND IF ANYONE WOULD TAKE THE
TIME TO LOOK INTO THE FACTS AND
CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING MY
CASE OF THE PEOPLE WHO DID THIS
AND WHAT THEY TRIED TO DO TO
PRESIDENT TRUMP, WHAT THEY DID
TO AN AMERICAN HERO LIKE BERNIE
KERIK AND A WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER
PEOPLE, A CRIMINAL JUSTICE
SYSTEM THAT IS INHERENTLY RACIST
AND DISCRIMINATES AGAINST PEOPLE
OF COLOR AND AFRICAN-AMERICANS
COME I’VE SEEN IT.
I SOUGHT IN EIGHT YEARS IN
PRISON.
PRISON. IF WE DON’T DO SOMETHING ABOUT
STOPPING THIS, IF WE DON’T REIN
IN THESE UNCONTROLLED
PROSECUTORS WHO HAVE UNLIMITED
POWER, THE LIFE OF OUR DEMOCRACY
WILL BE CHOKED AND WE WILL LOSE
OUR FREEDOMS.
OUR FREEDOMS. THE PRECIOUS FREEDOM OF THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE TO CHOOSE THEIR
OWN LEADERS THROUGH FREE AND
FAIR ELECTIONS, THAT IS WHAT IS
AT STAKE HERE.
OUR COUNTRY IS IN TROUBLE AND
THERE’S A SMALL CLIQUE OF PEOPLE
IN THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO DID
TO ME AND THEY ARE TRYING TO DO
IT TO PRESIDENT TRUMP.
>> Trace: I COULD TELL YOU WHO
IS NOT GOING TO HIRE YOU AS ANY
SHAVING COMPANIES BECAUSE THE
CUT ON THE CHIN DURING THE NEWS
CONFERENCE WAS PRETTY VICIOUS.
I WILL GIVE YOU TEN SECONDS TO
RESPOND BUT YOU ARE TAPPING AT
THE WHOLE TIME.
BIT OF A CHANGE BETWEEN PRISON
RAZOR BLADES AND DOMESTIC RAZOR
BLADES?
BLADES? >> YEAH, I’VE BEEN BRUISED AND
BATTERED AND I WAS BLOODIED
TODAY, I HAVEN’T SHAVED WITH A
RAZOR LIKE THAT IN NEARLY EIGHT
YEARS, 3,000 DAYS.