Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has outlined a series of allegations about Barack Obama’s conduct during his rise in Illinois politics, describing events he said occurred while both men were active in state and national campaigns.
Blagojevich served eight years in federal prison after his 2008 corruption conviction and was pardoned by President Donald Trump.
In recent comments, Blagojevich said his interactions with Obama began when Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004.
He described Obama as “kind of cold and impersonal” and said he viewed him as “one of the more selfish people in politics on a one-on-one level.”
Blagojevich also said Obama “wasn’t pure like the driven snow in the sense of his ethics or morality.”
Blagojevich said that after Obama secured his Senate seat, Michelle Obama pursued a senior position at a major Chicago institution.
According to Blagojevich, he received a request to place a call on her behalf.
“I was asked to make a phone call on behalf of Michelle Obama ‘cause as soon as he won the Senate race, she wanted a job either at Northwestern University or the University of Chicago Hospitals for two to $300,000 a year,” he said.
“Northwestern was willing to pay $200,000 to hire her,” Blagojevich said.
He added that the University of Chicago Medical Center offered a higher salary.
“They got a better offer at the University of Chicago, which is in Hyde Park, where they’re from, $300,000, and she ended up working there.”
He said his call was not decisive in securing the position but said it was requested.
Blagojevich also revisited the Obamas’ real estate dealings with Chicago developer Tony Rezko.
Rezko, a political fundraiser later convicted on corruption charges, purchased a vacant lot next to the Obama home in Chicago’s Kenwood neighborhood.
“The Obamas bought this mansion. Now that he’s the new senator, the first thing they do is buy a mansion,” Blagojevich said.
“They could only afford $750,000, so they purchased the lot with the house on it…the mansion on it—but they couldn’t afford the adjoining lot, so they asked Rezko to buy it for him, and he did.”
He said Rezko had been “really helpful” to Obama over the years but claimed Obama distanced himself when investigations began involving Rezko’s fundraising.
“When investigations heated up…Obama just ran from him, did nothing to help him, and pretends like he never knew him,” he said.
Blagojevich further alleged that Obama’s political team worked to manage how Rezko’s relationship with Obama was covered during the 2008 campaign.
He said David Axelrod, who had previously worked for Blagojevich before joining Obama’s campaign team, influenced coverage.
“I knew what they were doing. They were, for political reasons, influencing the media to pretty much Tony-me up more than Obama,” he said.
“Obama knew him and loved him longer, and Tony had done more for Obama over the years than he did for me.”
Blagojevich said the media “conveniently ignored” the extent of Rezko’s ties to Obama.
ROD BLAGOJEVICH JUST BLEW THE DOORS OFF THE OBAMA MYTH — AND THE MEDIA IS PANICKING
Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich — the man who knew Obama better than anyone — has just exposed what he saw FIRST-HAND:
The Obama story was never clean.
It was built on favours,… pic.twitter.com/NSZkyuvyI3 [1]— Jim Ferguson (@JimFergusonUK) November 24, 2025 [2]
The allegations revisit events that were examined during Blagojevich’s criminal case and during the scrutiny surrounding Rezko’s activities.
The Obamas have previously denied wrongdoing related to the real estate transaction, and investigations at the time did not result in charges against them.