Rod Blagojevich Will Star on 'Celebrity Apprentice' Despite Prosecutors' Concerns

"I'm a big admirer of Donald Trump's," Blagojevich said in an interview on "Access Hollywood." "Here's someone who has known great success. He has also known some adversity, and he has bounced back from adversity. So from a personal standpoint, he's a great inspiration for me."

Blagojevich, a Democrat who served as governor from 2003 to 2009, taped the show in October in New York with the 14 other celebrity contestants, including baseball player Darryl Strawberry, singer Cyndi Lauper, actress Holly Robinson Peete and rocker Ozzy Osbourne's wife, Sharon Osbourne.

He is scheduled to stand trial on June 3 on charges he tried to auction off President Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder. Blagojevich is also accused of campaign fund abuses and corruption. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

A statement released by his publicist read in part: "As the governor prepares for trial, he continues to receive offers and opportunities -- most of which he turns down because they are not the right fit. He looks forward to his day in court to clear his name . . . "

Federal prosecutors told a judge they worried that Blagojevich's comments on "Celebrity Apprentice" could taint the jury, which will be chosen around the time the show is airing. They did not ask the judge to prevent him from going on the show.

Seemingly unabashed about his ouster from the governor's mansion and facing federal criminal charges, this is the second time Blagojevich has wrangled with prosecutors to be on a TV reality show. Last spring, he signed up for NBC's "I'm a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here," but a federal judge put the kibosh on his plan to leave the country to do the show in Costa Rica.

Not backing down, his wife and former Illinois First Lady Patti Blagojevich took his slot on the reality show and the former governor made cameos.

"Celebrity Apprentice" raises money for the celebrity's favorite charity -- Blagojevich chose Children's Cancer Center of Tampa, Fla. -- but the participants also get paid to be on the show.

The winner of "Celebrity Apprentice" is kept secret until the finale airs, but if Blagojevich does as well as Trump predicts, he could be watching the finale from the federal court house.

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