Possible Sentence Commutation For Blagojevich
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Could former governor Rod Blagojevich finally get the break he's been hoping for?
On Thursday, President Donald Trump saying he's seriously considering commuting Blagojevich's sentence.
Trump said Blagojevich shouldn't have been put in jail and called his sentence "excessive."
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports on what happens next.
On Air Force One, President Trump is discussing a presidential pardon when, unprompted, he brings up imprisoned former governor Rod Blagojevich.
"I am seriously thinking about, not pardoning, but I am seriously thinking of a curtailment of Blagojevich," said Trump.
By curtailment, Trump is talking about the commutation of Blagojevich's 14 year prison sentence for corruption.
It comes just days after the ex-governor's op-ed piece was published in the Wall Street Journal.
In it, he stated he's in prison "for the routine practice of attempting to raise campaign funds while governor."
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Collins said the timing and strategy are no coincidence.
"I think it's been very effective, albeit cynical, in terms of getting to this jury-of-one,"said Collins.
That jury-of-one being Trump, who's been on record calling the special counsel's investigation of him about possible Russian collusion "a witch hunt."
Patty Blagojevich, who has been on Fox News pleaded a similar case said "Amy, Annie and I are very encouraged by the President's comments today. He's given us something that has been hard to come by recently...hope."
Blagojevich's brother Robert, his co-defendant in the first corruption trial, is hopeful.
"I'm cautiously optimistic and hopeful that he'll commute or pardon Rod from his prison sentence," said Blagojevich.
Blagojevich's attorney told CBS 2 Wednesday he was drafting a formal petition to commute Blagojevich's sentence.
