(FOXNEWS) — A federal appeals court Tuesday overturned some of the most sensational convictions that sent former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich off to a lengthy stint in prison, ruling that the Democrat did not break the law when he sought to secure a Cabinet position in President Barack Obama’s administration in exchange for appointing an Obama adviser to the president’s former U.S. Senate seat.
The unanimous ruling from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago means the 58-year-old — currently Inmate No. 40892-424 in a Colorado prison — could end up serving less than his original 14-year sentence. He has served more than three years behind bars so far.
The three-judge panel dismissed five of the 18 counts Blagojevich was convicted of. It offered a ray of hope for the ex-governor by ordering he be resentenced, although it suggested the original sentence wasn’t necessarily extreme, even when factoring in the newly tossed convictions.
