Patti Blagojevich tells Rosie O’Donnell her husband is innocent

SHARE Patti Blagojevich tells Rosie O’Donnell her husband is innocent
Blagojevich_Trial_Sentenc.6.jpg

Patti Blagojevich listens as her husband former Gov. Rod Blagojevich speaks to reporters at the federal building in Chicago, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, for his sentencing hearing for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on 18 corruption counts, including trying to auction off President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Former first lady of Illinois Patti Blagojevich chats with talk-show host Rosie O’Donnell about preparing her children for their father’s imprisonment and her steadfast belief that the disgraced former governor is innocent, in an interview to be aired Wednesday on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Billed as an “exclusive one-on-one interview,” O’Donnell reduces Patti Blagojevich to tears when she urges the family to “get all of those feelings out” before former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is locked up.

“I can’t fathom what you’re going through as a mother,” O’Donnell tells Blagojevich.

O’Donnell asks Blagojevich if she believes her husband is innocent of all charges.

“I’m positive,” she says, adding, “I was there, and I’ve heard all the conversations. I know his heart. So much of this case was intent – what was his intent? And I know his heart.”

Blagojevich also recalled when the FBI came to the family’s Ravenswood Manor home to arrest Rod Blagojevich. “They called, and I thought it was a joke,” she said. “It was like, ‘We’re the FBI. We’re downstairs. Open the door. We have a warrant for your husband’s arrest.’”

Blagojevich is to report to federal prison in Littleton, Colo., by March 15. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison in December.

Stefano Esposito

The Latest
Many kids in the audience came dressed up. I would recommend parents encourage it, as their youngsters will undoubtedly make new friends at intermission finding others who love the characters they do, or who identify with other ones.
Mayor Brandon Johnson made it clear he will not remove Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25as Housing Committee chair for appearing at a rally where an American flag was burned to protest U.S. support for Israel. He likened the controversy to the furor that surrounded Barack Obama’s controversial Pastor Jeremiah Wright.
White Sox fans from all over will flock to Guaranteed Rate Field on Thursday for the team’s home opener against the Tigers.
Archer Courts, 2242 S. Princeton Ave., will soon get a new hot water system, ventilation system and rooftop solar panels through a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Leasure will make his major league debut on Thursday.