A 2006 re-election and his second term led to the passage of a variety of healthcare, gun control, and anti-discrimination bills. Starting in December 2008, an investigation and trial found Blagojevich guilty of public corruption after he attempted to solicit bribes to occupy the U.S. Senate seat vacated by then president-elect Barack Obama. Blagojevich was impeached in 2009, later convicted, and ultimately sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. After an appeal for his release, U.S. President Donald Trump formally commuted his sentence in 2020; though Blagojevich was imprisoned for nearly eight years, the executive order ended his sentence six years early. In May 2020, Blagojevich launched a politics-themed podcast called "The Lightning Rod" on WLS-AM 890.