U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday granted a full pardon to Rod Blagojevich, the former Illinois governor convicted of corruption, whose prison sentence he had commuted five years ago during his first term.

Blagojevich, a Democrat, was removed from office in 2009 and later convicted of attempting to sell the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama after he won the presidency in 2008.

Calling the case a “terrible injustice,” Trump defended his decision, saying, “They just went after him. They go after a lot of people. These are bad people on the other side.”

“I think he’s a very fine person, and this shouldn’t have happened,” Trump added while signing the pardon in the Oval Office.

When asked about reports suggesting he was considering Blagojevich for the role of U.S. ambassador to Serbia, Trump denied it but remarked, “No, but I would. He’s now cleaner than anybody in this room.”

In 2020, when Trump commuted Blagojevich’s 14-year sentence, he was vague about his reasoning. He recalled Blagojevich’s appearance on “The Apprentice” and described him as a “very nice person” but admitted, “I don’t know him very well.”

“He served eight years in jail. He had a long time to go. Many people disagreed with the sentence,” Trump said at the time.

Since returning to the White House on January 20, Trump has exercised his broad presidential pardon powers on several occasions.

On the night of his inauguration, he pardoned approximately 1,500 individuals connected to the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, where supporters attempted to overturn his election loss to Joe Biden.

He has also granted clemency to two dozen anti-abortion protesters and Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the “Silk Road” online marketplace, which facilitated millions of dollars in drug sales.