On Feb. 18, 2020, President Donald Trump commuted the 14-year sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich , who was then released from a federal prison in Colorado.

Here is how the saga unfolded -- from arrest, through impeachment proceedings and the justice system.

Dec. 9, 2008 An early morning arrest At 6:15 a.m., Gov. Rod Blagojevich is roused from his Ravenswood Manor home, arrested, handcuffed and hauled before a federal magistrate on sweeping charges that he conspired to sell his office many times over -- including putting a price on the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama . "I intend to stay on the job, and I will fight this thing every step of the way. I will fight. I will fight. I will fight until I take my last breath. I have done nothing wrong," Blagojevich says on Dec. 19, 2008, in his first news conference after his arrest. U.S. Marshals photo

Jan. 9, 2009 Impeached In a historic display of anger and frustration, the Illinois House votes 114-1 to impeach Blagojevich and send him to trial in the Senate with the aim of removing the state's 40th chief executive from public office forever. A board inside the Illinois House shows the results of a Jan. 9, 2009, vote to impeach Blagojevich. Only one member, Rep. Milton Patterson, D-Chicago, voted not to impeach. (Seth Perlman/AP)

Jan. 29, 2009 Removed from office The Illinois Senate votes 59-0 to remove Blagojevich, who walks out of the silent chamber after delivering an impassioned plea for mercy, saying he "never, ever intended to violate the law." Within hours they applaud his former running mate and lieutenant governor, Pat Quinn , who is sworn in as the state's 41st governor. Pat Quinn is sworn in as governor by Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke as his son Patrick Quinn, 25, holds the Bible in the Illinois House on Jan. 29, 2009, in Springfield. The Senate voted 59-0 to remove Blagojevich from office. (Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune)

April 2, 2009 Charged with racketeering, fraud and extortion A federal grand jury indicts Blagojevich on 16 counts, including racketeering, fraud and extortion. Also indicted are his brother, Robert (his charges are later dropped); a close friend and fundraiser, Chris Kelly; his chief of staff, John Harris; and a former chief of staff, Alonzo Monk. Chicago Tribune front page from April 3, 2009

April 14, 2009 Pleads not guilty The former governor is in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse for a routine arraignment, entering a not guilty plea in his corruption case at a hearing that lasts just minutes. But his first appearance since his stunning arrest more than four months prior unleashes "Blagomania" on the sidewalk outside the courthouse. Blagojevich, center, leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on April 14, 2009, surrounded by media after pleading not guilty to federal corruption charges. (M. Spencer Green/AP)

June 8, 2010 Trial begins: 2 portraits of the former governor Blagojevich hears himself described as naive, shallow, lacking in judgment and deeply insecure -- and that was from his lawyer, Sam Adam Jr. But his defense strategy, as laid out by Adam, appears designed to portray Blagojevich as a victim of greedy and unprincipled schemers he had unwittingly surrounded himself with as Illinois governor. Prosecutors paint a far different image of Blagojevich. Time and again, Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Hamilton says, Blagojevich put his own interests ahead of the people he was supposed to represent, adopting a mantra of "What about me?" and demanding campaign cash and other favors in exchange for official acts. Blagojevich arrives June 8, 2010, to the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse for the start of opening arguments. (Alex Garcia/Chicago Tribune)

Aug. 17, 2010 Jury deadlocked on most counts After 14 days of deliberations, the six-man, six-woman jury convicted Blagojevich on just one of the 24 felony counts he faced -- a charge that he had lied to FBI agents about his intense involvement in campaign fundraising. Prosecutors make it clear they intend to quickly retry Blagojevich on the 23 counts on which the jury deadlocked. U.S. District Judge James Zagel declares a mistrial on the 23 disputed counts, including sweeping racketeering and conspiracy charges that accused him of running the state as a criminal enterprise. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune)

April 21, 2011 Retrial begins Blagojevich's new corruption trial bumps into the old one, which received an avalanche of publicity, as many prospective jurors express disdain for politicians in general and the former governor in particular. And Blagojevich has done his own bit to ratchet up publicity about the case, declaring himself the victim of a prosecution run amok in a series of media interviews that prosecutors have contended were aimed at swaying the jury pool. Blagojevich talks to Tribune reporters April 20, 2011, at his Chicago home. (Abel Uribe/ Chicago Tribune)

June 27, 2011 Guilty on 17 of 20 counts In its 10th day of deliberations, the 11-woman, one-man jury convicts Blagojevich of several shakedown attempts, including allegations that he brazenly tried to sell President Barack Obama's old U.S. Senate seat in 2008. "I, frankly, am stunned," said Blagojevich, who was barred after the verdict from traveling outside northern Illinois without court permission. "There's not much left to say other than we want to get home to our little girls and talk to them and explain things to them and try to sort things out." (Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune)

Dec. 7, 2011 Sentenced to 14 years A contrite Blagojevich is sentenced to 14 years in federal prison -- the second-longest term ever delivered in federal court in Chicago for a public corruption case. U.S. District Judge James Zagel made it clear that the former governor's position and the relentless history of corruption in Illinois demanded a harsh message. "When it is the governor who goes bad, the fabric of Illinois is torn and disfigured and not easily repaired," the judge lectured Blagojevich. "You did that damage." (E. Jason Wambsgans/ Chicago Tribune)

March 15, 2012 Reports to prison in Colorado After signing autographs and posing for photos at O'Hare International Airport, Blagojevich lands in Denver then hops into a black SUV with two of his attorneys to report to Federal Correctional Institution-Englewood -- with a camera-toting helicopter tracking his movement and the image streamed live on TV websites. It’s outrageous that Blagojevich goes to jail for 14 years when killers and sex offenders are out walking the (cont) http://t.co/O1FbaiGG — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 15, 2012 Blagojevich, center, walks with attorneys as he arrives at the Federal Correctional Institution-Englewood on March 15, 2012, in Littleton, Colo., where he began serving his 14-year sentence for corruption. (Ed Andrieski/AP)

Dec. 13, 2013 7th Circuit hears appeal arguments Lawyers for Blagojevich appealed his conviction, arguing that U.S. District Judge James Zagel's "one-sided evidentiary rulings" favored prosecutors and that the stiff sentence he imposed was based on vague and speculative evidence. In one of the testiest exchanges of the hourlong hearing, Judge Frank Easterbrook pressed a federal prosecutor on how Blagojevich's conduct differed from a famous political deal supposedly struck more than 60 years earlier: President Dwight Eisenhower's nomination of Earl Warren to the U.S. Supreme Court in exchange for the California governor's support in the 1952 election.

July 21, 2015 5 counts thrown out A federal appeals court in Chicago throws out five of the 18 counts against Blagojevich and orders his sentence vacated. The three-judge panel tempered the small legal victory by calling the evidence against Blagojevich "overwhelming" and making it clear he will likely remain locked up for years to come. The same judge who imposed the original sentence -- a frequent target of the defense for his alleged unfairness -- will still decide his punishment. Amy Blagojevich, left, cries as her mother, Patti Blagojevich, speaks during a news conference after the announcement of a federal appeals court in Chicago throwing out five of 18 counts against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

March 28, 2016 U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear case While the justices' succinct denial is disappointing for Blagojevich, it's not the end of his long legal road.

Aug. 9, 2016 Zagel resentences Blagojevich to 14 years Saying Blagojevich's corruption diminished the public's "already taxed faith" in its elected leaders, U.S. District Judge James Zagel puts an emphatic point on the end of the case by imposing the same sentence he had in 2011. The judge did so even though Blagojevich apologized for his "mistakes," claiming to be a changed man and model prisoner. The gray-haired former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is seen in a courtroom sketch on Aug. 9, 2016, at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago. (Cheryl A. Cook/for the Chicago Tribune)

April 21, 2017 7th Circuit upholds the resentence The terse, six-page opinion by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals effectively slams the door on Blagojevich's last real chance of either winning a new trial or reducing his time behind bars.

April 16, 2018 U.S. Supreme Court again declines to hear case The announcement marks the end of the decadelong legal road and virtually guarantees Blagojevich will remain in prison until 2024 barring a presidential pardon or commutation.

May 31, 2018 Trump tweets he is considering commuting Blagojevich's sentence President Donald Trump tells reporters aboard Air Force One he is considering commuting Blagojevich's 14-year prison sentence, which he describes as an overly harsh penalty for what essentially amounted to a "foolish statement."

June 5, 2018 Lawyers file request to commute sentence The request for executive clemency was filed with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney, which oversees official pardon and commutation requests. There is no timetable for President Trump to act on the request, but if he decides to grant the commutation, Blagojevich could be released within days or even hours from the minimum-security facility outside Denver where he has served just more than six years. If the president denies the request, Blagojevich, 61, would not be due for release until May 2024.

Aug. 7, 2019 Trump 'very strongly' considering commutation Speaking to reporters after making visits to Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, following mass shootings in those cities over the weekend, Trump says he thinks the former Democratic governor had been mistreated. Rod Blagojevich, the former Governor of Illinois, was sentenced to 14 years in prison. He has served 7 years. Many people have asked that I study the possibility of commuting his sentence in that it was a very severe one. White House staff is continuing the review of this matter. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 8, 2019