"Obama sold him out" - Joe Rogan's podcast guest makes grim revelation about how former U.S. president became the linchpin of his incarceration

Joe Rogan (left) discussed Barack Obama
Joe Rogan (left) discussed Barack Obama's (right) role in Rod Blagojevich's arrest and conviction. [Images courtesy: @joerogan on X and @barackobama on Instagram]

In conversation with Joe Rogan, former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich discussed his political dealings with former president Barack Obama, which ultimately led to his eventual arrest and trial.

In a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that aired on Dec. 18, Blagojevich provided insights into how these events unfolded.

10 months into his term as the Governor of Illinois, Blagojevich realized that he was under scrutiny. Initially, he thought this oversight could be beneficial to get guidance, among other things, but his perspective eventually shifted:

"I felt good, that puts the pressure on people around me to do legal things and not cross the lines. I never imagined the FBI and the Department of Justice and these US attorneys who come out of the best schools would be so corrupt and dishonest."

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According to Blagojevich, a mutual acquaintance of his and Obama, Tony Resco, was arrested and pressured to make him speak against them. However, he claimed that Obama "sold him out":

"They probably convicted [Resco] of things that weren't crimes either. They were squeezing him to say things about me and Obama. He wouldn't do it, they put him into solitary confinement for three years to get him to invent crimes against us. He wouldn't do it, this guy is a stand-up guy. Obama sold him out and he did more for Obama than he ever did for me."

Check out Rod Blagojevich's comments below (5:49):

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Rod Blagojevich tells Joe Rogan how he was charged for a criminal offense

In the aforementioned episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Rod Blagojevich told Joe Rogan that Obama became a frontrunner in the Presidential race. This led him to try and strike a deal with Blagojevich to appoint his favored person to the senate. However, this set the events in motion that led to Blagojevich's eventual arrest, impeachment, and conviction:

"When they arrested me, they basically wanted me to say that I was guilty of trying to sell a senate seat, and I was trying to sell it to another guilty party, who was the guy that started the whole thing, by the name of Barack Obama, who wanted to buy that senate seat. Because that's where it began, itas Obama on an election night, he sent an emissary to me to suggest a political deal because he wanted this woman named Valerie Jarrett to be appointed to his senate seat." [8:01]

According to Blagojevich, such a political deal is not a criminal offense. However, it was criminalized against him. US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald directed the FBI to arrest Blagojevich in December 2008 on corruption charges. The Illinois House voted to impeach him in January of the following year.

Blagojevich was prohibited from holding public office in Illinois ever again. He was convicted for several charges and sentenced to 14 years in jail. While he spent nearly eight years in prison, President Donald Trump commuted his sentence and he was released in February 2020.

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Edited by Rajneesh Suhas Reddy
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