From Prison Cell to Trump Pardon: Rod Blagojevich Unloads
6/11/20261 hr 21 min
This episode features a long-form interview with former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who argues that his prosecution was an early example of political lawfare and that his case foreshadowed what later happened to Donald Trump. Blagojevich walks through the Obama Senate-seat controversy, the FBI tapes, the trial, and the evidentiary fights that shaped his conviction, insisting that prosecutors took conversations out of context and blocked material that would have shown he was pursuing political deals for public policy goals rather than personal enrichment. The discussion also examines Patrick Fitzgerald, James Comey, prosecutorial power, judicial bias, and the broader question of whether the justice system has become a political weapon. The interview also gets unusually personal, moving from the mechanics of his conviction to the emotional cost of prison, family separation, and public disgrace. Blagojevich describes life behind bars, including his prison band, the people he met inside, and the impact his sentence had on his wife and daughters. He also explains how Donald Trump’s commutation and later pardon reshaped his life and politics, leading him from Democrat to what he calls a “Trumpocrat.” The result is part legal argument, part prison memoir, and part political testimony about corruption, redemption, and survival. Got a comment or question? Send it to EmailGreta@newsmax.com and it may be used or answered on an upcoming episode. You can watch the video version of the “Greta Wire” podcast on NEWSMAX social media channels, plus YouTube and Rumble, on the same afternoon the audio version launches. Listen to Newsmax LIVE and subscribe to our entire podcast lineup at http://Newsmax.com/Listen Don’t miss Greta every weekday on “The Record with Greta Van Susteren” at 4 PM ET, only on NEWSMAX TV. Watch the show anytime, anywhere with NEWSMAX+. Get your 15-day free trial of NEWSMAX+ at http://NewsmaxPlus.com Follow Greta on Social Media: Facebook: / greta X/Twitter: https://x.com/greta Instagram: / greta TikTok: / greta.com Follow NEWSMAX on Social Media: Facebook: http://nws.mx/FB X/Twitter: http://nws.mx/twitter Instagram: http://nws.mx/IG YouTube: / newsmaxtv Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/NewsmaxTV TRUTH Social: https://truthsocial.com/@NEWSMAX GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/newsmax Threads: http://threads.net/@NEWSMAX Telegram: http://t.me/newsmax BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/newsmax.com Parler: http://app.parler.com/newsmax THANKS FOR LISTENING! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsGreta Van Susteren· Host0:00
A governor going to prison? It doesn't happen every day. And this governor who went to prison is a Democrat, and guess who commuted his sentence eight years later and eventually pardoned him? A Republican, Donald Trump. You're about to hear a podcast from Governor Rod Blagojevich, who has gone from being a Democrat to a Trumpocrat, and he'll tell you why. By the way, he was also an apprentice, and he's got some very, very colorful talents, including doing Elvis impersonations in federal prison in a band. Here's the podcast. Governor, nice to see you again.
Rod Blagojevich· Guest0:52
Nice to see you, Greta.
Greta Van Susteren· Host0:54
I want to talk to you about, because I believe you are ground zero on lawfare. You know, everyone's paying a lot of attention now to lawfare, but I believe you're ground zero. But I wanted to ask you about one thing right off the top. You were in a prison band.
Rod Blagojevich· Guest1:07
I was. It was called G. Brown and the Jailhouse Rockers. We auditioned for and actually won the gig to perform before the GED graduates. You know, felons, inmates, a few convicted of murder who were getting their high school degrees. And there was probably 110 of them in the audience with caps and gowns. It was surreal, really, because I'd see them