US President Donald Trump told reporters he could add two more names to his clemency list. Photo / AP
US President Donald Trump told reporters he could add two more names to his clemency list. Photo / AP
US President Donald Trump told reporters on Thursday that he could add two more names to his presidential clemency list: lifestyle guru Martha Stewart and former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.
Stewart was pictured flashing her middle finger in the direction of a poster of his face last year- but a Trump pardon would give the president the chance to make the same gesture to James Comey, the ex-FBI chief who jailed Stewart.
"I think to a certain extent Martha Stewart was harshly and unfairly treated," he said. "And she used to be my biggest fan in the world … before I became a politician. But that's OK – I don't view it that way."
Blagojevich was a Celebrity Apprentice contestant before his conviction, reports Daily Mail.
The president spoke aboard Air Force One just hours after he pardoned the conservative firebrand Dinesh D'Souza, a filmmaker and author who pleaded guilty to making $20,000 in illegal campaign contributions to a Senate candidate.
Stewart managed to save herself more than $45,000 in 2001 by selling her shares in a company after receiving inside information – just a day before the stock lost one-sixth of its value.
She served five months in federal prison after a jury convicted her in 2004 of three felonies: conspiracy, obstruction of an agency proceeding, and making false statements to federal investigators.
James Comey, who would later become FBI director and feel the sting of a Trump pink-slip, prosecuted the case.
Blagojevich was put behind bars by Peter Fitzgerald, a longtime Comey friend and confidant.
An art lover posted the infamous photo last year of Stewart flipping off Trump – and flashing a peace sign to an adjacent poster of Snoop Dogg – on Instagram, writing that he "[w]as taking a picture of these Trump and Snoop Dogg pieces...and Martha Stewart walks into the frame."
Blagojevich is in his 7th year of a 14-year sentence for felony corruption. The Democrat was convicted of plotting to sell a U.S. Senate appointment after former President Barack Obama vacated his seat to move to the White House.
Trump said the disgraced politician was behind bars "for being stupid and saying things that every other politician – you know that many other politicans say."
Trump said he would consider a 'curtailment' of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's 14-year prison term for corruption. Photo / Getty Images
He called the result "really unfair," and insisted he didn't know Blagojevich beyond their interactions when he was a contestant on 'The Apprentice' while he awaited trial.
"Plenty of other politicians have said a lot worse. And it doesn't– he shouldn't have been put in jail," he said. "And he's a Democrat. He's not my party. But I thought that he was treated unfairly."
"Plenty of other politicians could have said a lot worse," he added, reflecting on an infamous FBI phone tap that caught him saying he wanted "something real good" in exchange for unilaterally sending someone to Congress.
He called the power to create a federal legislator with the stroke of a pen "a f***ing valuable thing. You just don't give it away for nothing."
Trump said Thursday that he was less interested in pardoning Blagojevich than in a "curtailment" of his sentence.
Former FBI Director James Comey - who has become a vocal Trump critic after being fired last year - prosecuted Martha Stewart in 2004. Photo / AP
The U.S. Supreme Court announced in April that the justices would not hear his appeal.
Last week the president posthumously pardoned Jack Johnson, an African-American heavyweight boxing champion who was convicted of transporting a white woman – his future wife – across state lines.
The White House said Thursday of Trump's pardon of D'Souza that the right-winger "was, in the President's opinion, a victim of selective prosecution for violations of campaign finance laws."
"Mr. D'Souza accepted responsibility for his actions, and also completed community service by teaching English to citizens and immigrants seeking citizenship."
Trump told reporters that he had spoken personally with D'Souza "for three minutes last night," adding that "he almost had a heart attack."
D'Souza was prosecuted by Preet Bharara, a former U.S. Attorney in New York who became a bitter Trump opponent after the president fired him, along with dozens of other federal prosecutors, upon taking office.
