In the pantheon of corrupt people that President Donald Trump has rescued from justice, or tried to — abusive Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, political trickster Roger Stone, right-wing campaign felon Dinesh D'Souza, Bush-era perjurer Lewis "Scooter" Libby — Rod Blagojevich is small potatoes. The world won't be a more dangerous place just because the former Illinois governor is getting out of prison four years early.

But Trump's decision to commute Blagojevich's 14-year prison sentence isn't ultimately about Blagojevich, anyway. It's about Trump's ongoing mission to undermine the sanctity of the rule of law — something that even Trump's attorney general, William Barr, appears to be concerned about.

Blagojevich was governor from 2003 until his impeachment and removal in 2009, with federal prosecutors closing in. He was ultimately convicted of 18 counts including wire fraud, attempted extortion, conspiracy to solicit bribes and lying to federal agents.

At the heart of the crimes was Blagojevich's attempt to monetize his official power to fill Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat when Obama was elected president. "I've got this thing, and it's [expletive] golden," Blagojevich famously said of the seat, as captured by federal wiretaps. "I'm just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing." That dedication to democracy kind of hits you right there, doesn't it?

Less famous but even more disgraceful was Blagojevich's attempt to shake down a children's hospital for campaign donations, using its state funding as leverage — a scheme that applied the same kinds of pressure points Trump did when he tried to get campaign help from Ukraine by using U.S. military aid as leverage. Blagojevich got a prison term for doing essentially the same thing that got Trump a Senate acquittal. No wonder Trump decided to set Blagojevich free.

Oddly enough, Blagojevich is a liberal Democrat from a blue state — not exactly qualifying factors for Trumpian sympathy.

It could be that, in his twisted worldview, Trump truly thinks Blagojevich got a raw deal. Trump last year characterized Blagojevich as having "been in jail for seven years over a phone call where nothing happens." Just as Trump apparently thinks it's fine that his own campaign officials met with a Russian operative promising campaign dirt — because, after all, the dirt wasn't delivered. So Trump must think a governor who tries to barter off a Senate seat for his personal gain didn't do anything wrong if the criminal intent doesn't yield results.

A more likely motivation, though, is Trump's core contempt for political reform. Remember, Trump has routinely used his official powers to enrich his business, reward his friends, punish his enemies and bolster his reelection campaign. In that light, it's clear the Blagojevich commutation is nothing more or less than Trump holding up a big middle finger to the entire concept of clean politics.

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