Joe Rogan Experience #2245 — Rod Blagojevich Transcript

Transcript

0:00 Need more hot takes? Head to the FanDuel Sportsbook app. They've got more ways to bet, more ways to win, and more ways to cash out quick. automatically assume that they're guilty. And after I think he's released, how many people has he pardoned today? Why would they do that? Exactly. and government. So the prudent thing, the safe thing was to cut your losses and take

3:57 It was already three years at that point And I knew it was all bullshit. and they were doing to me what they ultimately bugging your phones, but you kind of knew they were bugging your phones, but you kind of knew The mob was involved in that. And then when Bobby Kennedy started going after Giancana, the years in politics, people would, they'd come to you and offer you things that you

6:34 and people around me in December of 2003. to do the legal things and not cross lines. There was all kinds of pressure at that time because they'd gotten a guy who was close This guy's a standup guy. How could they not? When the new president comes in, they leave, as you see with Trump and the other parties people come Jarrett to be appointed to his Senate seat.

9:13 Okay. All right. We're back. So Obama was To some extent, that's part of it, of course. A black person can be elected president of the United States. And he asked me to come to you. Obama wasn't trying to force it. He was trying to make a deal to persuade me to do it. One like a major And you know, this was unique. And so I explored all kinds of ideas.

12:41 They only play 2% of the tapes and the 98% of them And I'm talking to my lawyer, Quinlan I say hey NBC nothing but respect for our future president So you can see in writing what you can actually hear when they play the tape Why doesn't somebody go to California ask Halle Berry if she'd like to be a United States senator? And I look ahead and I'm looking at the clock and there's like 10 minutes to go before noon

15:29 could say it's misogynist. It's this it's just shit talking. It's what guys do. And Everybody's writing him off as a president Prejudice them against things and that the context aspect of it is very important because there's such a difference between a statement and so if you just has to do with the, a lot of it has to do with the actual US Attorney, his name is

18:33 wanted to leverage Obama to keep him in office so he could finish the job and tapes. They wouldn't even let me play them in court in the second trial, even though the jury in closing argument, go back to the jury room and see how many times you hear what he You won't hear a single tape, even though there were 102 conversations on that subject. They were all covered up and the jury didn't know those tapes existed

21:27 from it. There was no victim at all. And yet they fined him this fucking insane amount They went along with it as if these 34 felonies for I mean it just shows you how many people were willing to sacrifice all of their ethics, The whole thing is so mind boggling how short-sighted people are in the name of wanting their side to win against them and exposing them. So it started. I really believe, with me. And they got away with it with me

24:00 out of the Democratic National Committee, the DNC, about this. If there's anything that this administration can do He's got a big spot at CNN, the legal expert. was an unlawful standard. But the damage was done. That company went bankrupt. All those Compelled them to to produce them was obstruction of justice. And what was the accusation like? Yeah, he got a big sentence,

26:42 I bet you met a lot of characters. What do they do with the pedophiles in jail? That's their way of policing the other inmates who hate them and resent them. wire fence and got to a camp. Jared got to my prison because it's a prison that has a lot of pedophiles. Out Chomo? And so I was with one of my, the case manager or somebody, they were giving me more of the

29:59 that'll land you in solitary confinement. how long? Maybe a week. Jeez. population who are outraged by their crimes and are also outraged by the fact that a lot So drug dealers would argue a lot of it not violent, and they're right. Their stuff was nonviolent. Pedophiles cannot be in a camp. That's good. but they did it because they purposely gave me a sentence above ten years to

32:41 Trump would have never known me. o'clock in the morning in my house. And it was a super sensational press conference. And because the politics of it was bad at that time. You could never, because they were recorded? So they get they go to court a couple of days after I'm arrested and they go before their judge and they get a sealed But at least you could have laid out your version of it so people could hear it.

35:21 on in politics, what's normal for how these deals are made? Obama publicly said he did not send this labor guy to me, It's a big mistake to ever trust them, to be honest. he publicly said he did? He said he didn't do it. So somebody's lying. I had a pretty good relationship with him. Obama's best friend and she was a threat to the influence of Rahm and others and

38:28 I hope I get it done. Rod Blago books or something. he's a kind guy, I'll tell you stories about him a great president instead divided our country. And he was a snake and an ingrate and who like $750,000 for the lot. So I could explain to the media And he says I got to put a fence between the lot and the mansion he saw the sun one hour a day. So opposite of the kind of guy Trump is.

41:40 thinking when you get in there? a penny they don't even say I took a penny. It was all talk about politics. So trying to get climate back up, just from a time point of view. But that first day, It's all dark because you got all these media trucks Hardest thing I've ever did was saying goodbye to them. these motherfuckers were on the plane, they bought tickets.

44:32 They're all waiting there at the gate and then they the people in Denver were really nice and here at the airline you know what, we're like a half an hour early. And he had tweeted about it that day. I mean I got a million reasons why I love Donald Trump I'm entitled to a, you know, presumption of innocence, Get greeted by all these inmates and I I was worried about their safety.

47:27 Means they're getting punished because they wouldn't talk about anybody Toothbrush, toothpaste, shower shoes. the Aryan Brotherhood guys. gang banger drug dealer. Name was Slim. And another guy named Walter Hill from East St. to me by the authorities there that prison is a very segregated place, that the unwritten Who's sadness? But I made it clear to them, listen, I don't give a fuck.

50:36 like he would have wanted. a conflict with somebody from another race or another group of people. In the prison If somebody wants to fucking kill me here, But I'm not gonna, unless you're ordering me This is not a place where you could be a civil rights advocate or an activist, a civil right to make sure that you don't do those sorts of things. And I respected the fact that they said it was to keep order, and it was the culture,

53:22 So he was close to going home. I'd stay up late at night with him talking in that, in the, uh, in the, uh, I was there probably a year and a half Yeah. Well, you know, so that's the first night, you know when they the stark reality really hit me The lights are out. God willing I win my appeal, but that might be three years. we'll hook that up? In my house, SWAT teams, 24 member SWAT team around my house.

56:31 And I said, look, I didn't do anything wrong. then leverage that have Obama then that tell him, look, just leave us alone. So it's a lot of chess. You know, Democrats, Republicans, independents, libertarians, yes. House members, Senate members, the executive Escobar and El Chapo and people like that, that they So everybody knows how the game is played so everybody has to play the game.

59:03 Isn't it kind of the same thing? It's a dangerous system, especially the justice system. This is why there has to be checks and balances up the ladder and then all of a sudden or do I protect, try to defend my boss? with very good intentions, They show you the ropes, and the ropes are controlled by that deep state, that establishment There's a gentleman named Mike doubt. We had him on the podcast as well. And you know

1:01:57 I wanted to be a cop, now I'm a cop. What's it called? It's fantastic. It's the documentary Michael Dowd. Yeah, it's fantastic The entire graduating class, that's how corrupt it was. tell me a story about those dirty cops and I'm sure that's absolutely what they and so all alone, and so heartbroken, And then here I am in this deep fucking dark valley and I'm facing 14 years of this

1:05:16 Maybe there's hope and I'd read his Psalms because they're just prayers to God is what they are from him What they're gonna do to him and he says oh father, please lift this cup from me so I'm not here to try to win in the courts and only another few more months the appellate court will come through, don't And I could almost feel the presence of God.

1:07:53 reading the Bible that way It's very strange, isn't it? moments in life where you come into contact with something by opening yourself up to it. you die. wars have been started, people have been demonized and othered to the point where you're allowed to kill them because they believe the wrong thing. proud and intelligent and vocal religious people. And they're some of the nicest people

1:11:36 He's not gonna have a mega church. We talk about that. We talked about that in terms of psychedelics the other day, the spiritual It's a danger. Until someone overthrows him, that's your guy. And we have this hierarchy that we look for in everything. this guy had escaped from West Hollywood because they were looking for him because you know, and my friend Ron White, the comedian,

1:14:44 And they all believed in them and they wasted decades of their life. I'm like, this is great. That's crazy. That might be one of the most, You know? you know what I mean? I think I can... because it comes to all of us, because you got time. the last of the human freedoms is our freedom to choose our own attitude the best possible way to do it that could help

1:18:01 I could never ever ever let myself get so down I'm not trying to be successful in the real world Like that's what, that's also why he kept running, the end of the four mainstream narratives now and He's got a guy on for like, how long was that podcast? You're gonna talk about how long is that podcast? He's independent along with independent journalists like Michael Schellenberger and Matt Taibbi and Barry Weiss and Glenn Greenwald.

1:22:19 What they're supposed to do what they're supposed to do is podcasters who are out there offering another place for people to get you have to be able to talk about things. and you can put your ego beside you I don't want to say his name very very nice guy. One of the smartest fucking people I know. Don't say this. It doesn't work like that anymore. it conceited ignorance. And by the way, they made him treat the hemlock and kill him because supposedly he was corrupting the

1:26:08 It's super common with people that are very good at things. up. And it's just not true, you know, and there's a lot of people that are really smart the fucking man for years and all of a sudden they're in there with this guy and they're other person they didn't see it the way everybody else saw it. did go full 12 with Hagler right when Hagler was in his prime right but Hagler had a respect for

1:28:39 What he did to Ken Buchanan when he was a lightweight. Leonard and Montreal remember that yeah sure I loved her Ran. I met Ran once when he was training for If you won the Golden Gloves, that is a very... I started fighting when I was 15. it. I didn't like it at all and so I was like look I'm not growing. So it's like Yeah. I didn't have a car. Exactly. So every day, I'd walk a mile, get on the tea.

1:31:55 were you? I won the state championship the first year at 140 but it was way too hard for me to And you're so tired. then I got way better. I was much, much, much better. Like a banana? So I fend for myself. Whatever was in the house, I'd eat that. And then I course. And I didn't have a lot of guidance. My parents both worked, so I fend for myself. Yeah, because it takes like an hour to get there at least.

1:33:32 Well, you would always start up, and then you would practice kicks with, We just sparred like rounds? Right, right. You could just only work on your power, And so you're just constantly drilling it as if you're competing and then you'd go Yeah. And I would do rounds in the bag. Get that strong? For a long time, boxers, we were just talking about this the other day with Burt Soren from

1:35:51 And everyone was like, hey, maybe weightlifting So what do you do now? And it also is just, you know, Andrew Huberman has talked about this. It makes your brain more resilient. Listen, what you're saying is so true. pain on myself by running 10 miles for example on my first Christmas day handle disputes better conversations better interactions with people better

1:38:14 The friendliest people that I know. so insane and his just will was so insane. He was dominating. Dominated two different Yeah, but on a personal level, gentle, God fearing, soft-hearted, which you're describing I thought was really interesting Like, maniac mindset. prominent people say these things. Yes. Some prominent woman tweeted that he's in the toilet. Right. You can't just sit back and watch them, because yeah, that's good,

1:41:51 to a conclusion as a country. Instead you have to be on fucking a car, like in He's already been that. and they go along with the kind of trends that you were just talking about. When you go through And I think that helps motivate him What happened when he got shot? Nine shots between the snipers killing him, That's right. because of personal freedom. And? And because you can be somebody here. That's it. No matter

1:44:50 when he moved over here, Well, that's the socialist mindset. There should be, this is how it should all work, everybody should have an equal opportunity You could say, oh, look at all the effectiveness. So if you want a quality of outcome and you don't have a quality of effort, then you have That's a part of what the whole appeal to socialism. should act immediately when there's a fire. We're all paying to it and it's great. We can have other things like

1:47:28 less so the destination. Right, the quest. There's no hold fast rules, but hopefully, success will come. i'm telling you it's not real there's no finish line it doesn't exist you There's no end. Physically, there's going to come a point in time when you can't really get better at maybe you're following the guru who's the gay porn star and then all of a sudden you

1:49:31 how to discipline myself into action And a lot of greed, of course. to try to succeed. that a person could go through. They would love you! You could totally be the king of Vegas. That's crazy. I think about my wife and her quiet way, We love dogs. Well, it's got to be good. But you name it the Puppy Protection Act. She raised them great without a father.

1:52:50 betting, they were taking bets. What are the odds the First Lady of Illinois is going to That's what prevented me from even pursuing that they might criminalize that yeah. Yeah, it's a good question I'm doing that with my second wife. justice system that disproportionately has impacted the black community in a grossly And just through the podcast that we've done, multiple people have been released.

1:54:34 for something that they know is a lie. match up. pardoned a woman named Alice Marie Johnson, first-time nonviolent offender, the United States and NATO bombed Serbia taxes to Mexico and the Serbian government said we're not gonna do it wars. They love America. They want to improve relations with America today after that we bombed war. And no one knew what was going on with those those soldiers and so Reverend Jackson had this stature and he was close to Clinton

1:58:09 that follows a Judeo-Christian tradition. you know, is crystal clean on those issues. They're fighting for borders and they're fighting presidential election, Trump versus Kamala Harris, the Serbian people had the No. You know, you understand politics far more than most. out all the bad It's the usual people. special interest groups that operate and are lunching up on this system.

2:02:00 I'm living testament to that and and so is Trump. Very real. They're going to fight back, Yeah, it was a mandate. He's got that. They're very different. They're very unusual we're gonna win this and they're all fired up and cocky and hooting and hollering and and just only did speeches like that first one that she did, They were all moving in march step.

2:04:50 The whole machine turn in support of her the people that had mocked her approval ratings just six months They got away with it then. Oh my God. the representative for the Democratic Party. It's a little kind of dangerous. If you really What about them running? I just get so upset when I watch that because like, what got in your head that got you thinking that

2:07:30 And eventually, most of the people saw through it. become great again, which is a good thing, isn't it? and the treatment of black people in America. It's no longer let's judge people, religious ideals are gonna tell women what to do with their bodies. That's, if just like, just to a smaller extent, That if a woman had one of those apps and was living in a state, because Roe v. Wade's been

2:10:14 to travel from state to state, right? New York's a very different country than this, but we all agree that we can travel back and but I don't trust people. We would have them at the gas station. We'd get abortions everywhere. Like there would be no babies. view on it for the same reasons that you just explained. Not to mention the fact And within the first trimester, that's a life and being,

2:12:46 Yeah. I'm like, okay, I don't agree with you, but I understand where you're coming from. I don't give a fuck what you say. abuse of power decision. That's what that is. That's my position. I love that guy to death. Listen, I's got a bunch of them. I love that guy to death. Oh wow, that's hilarious. Did you record anything? Why don't you split the profits with the emits?

2:15:29 what whatever happened to that these some of these guys have such good hearts there and blow your heads off. And all of a sudden he goes from this doctor, this Mr. Hyde character where he's screaming motherfucker with his assault weapon There's all these witnesses, saw it all. So he's his kindness to the old lady and respecting the values of his father

2:18:26 very enterprising, very smart. and not even knowing what he was a part of, every week, millions of dollars. I believe it was federal prison. I believe it was federal prison. He got himself out of jail. I think he did 20 years got out in 2009 Wow I'm a lawyer, I went to law school, this is what I get for going to college. And I write in the book about the day,

2:21:10 about Burisma and Hunter Biden, his son, and prosecuting, firing the prosecutor or he's going But when it looked like I was coming out, I was literally transferred out of my camp o'clock in the morning. You got to be there. You wake up at 330 washing I want to be successful, make money. Yeah, will you? Give you back trying to work and educate these young guys,

2:23:29 in cages and we forget about them and it's convenient for us and just lock them up, just It's like we're constantly cutting cancerous tumors off. How much good could you do with $200 billion I support her stock trades. No kidding. don't know how she has the time considering she's so busy serving the Oh, in the black community in particular, in the cynical part of the Democrat Party. And it

2:25:38 but it wasn't just that. class, you know, have a business, those sorts of practical things that most That's right. demonstrate that he gives a fuck right it'll change the whole narrative if he of this. And then you've got to do something about law enforcement. You've got to mitigate Just let the black community be where it is and he's rebuilding this Republican party.

2:28:43 Look at the education issue. of them, like significantly. And again, I keep going to Ukraine, but if we're a country like proper planning, a real strategy, Help me out. Because there's all kinds of entrenched obstacles that won't let you do the necessary reforms to make the teachers chance that maybe you provide bonuses to teachers who are successful in raising

2:31:58 many different interest groups and the teachers unions, the We put a lot of money to the schools, The more people that we have that are highly educated, the less losers, the less crime, teachers union would be the biggest impediment to actual success? The but you got the AFL-CIO, you got the United Auto Workers, and they don't match up, but they've got these coalitions. So you have to get over all of that

2:34:30 and they're probably not getting enough nourishment. Put some of that money towards more police and that's the other irony approach to things. And one of the good things about this last election, give them a chance to have the skills they need so they can do something And the lowest income, most crime-ridden communities better than me. And I think I'm happy to provide any kind of free advice or

2:37:42 I can't jet you can say that unironically if my friend spayed But the way I can really help is I think I can bring a perspective on how I think you're the perfect person to ask us about what how do you feel about private prisons? I which is very much something that where you can get out of prison and have a chance to get a job, impeached in Illinois history, they won't even let my portrait up there in the

2:40:15 we're the first in the country to do that. What were we talking about? Correct. consideration when they have these guidelines that the judges have to follow. They were But you can do that, but there's no guidance in terms. Do you get counseling counseling? Yes, so that is guidance yard all muscled up I'm about to sing Jailhouse Rock to these guys. and there was a guy who was, had the music department an inmate a drug dude who was

2:43:40 all the brass in the prison, 110 of these badass guys. They had an outside guest And in one particular case, some guy was slicing up another inmate, almost killed him, and Because I've been on stage before, I know how to do that. Nobody laughed. The warden's staring at me know what happened but uh you know I think you're a good dude. I enjoy talking to you.

2:45:54 We kind of glossed over that a little bit. Absolutely.