>> Jesse Jackson junior, the namesake of his father, civil rights icon, Reverend Jackson had a storied career serving 17 years island as an Illinois congressman before his fall from grace in 2012, he spent 30 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to defraud his reelection campaign of close to 3 quarters of a million dollars.

That was over a decade ago while he's been out of the spotlight, mostly in that time.

He's speaking out now in particular.

He's drawing attention to President Biden's recent pardon of his son, Hunter, asking for the same for himself and many others.

Joining us now with more on his journey is Jesse Jackson Junior.

Welcome back to Chicago tonight.

Thank you for joining us.

Brenda.

Thank you for having me.

So in a letter to President Biden, as we mentioned, your father, Reverend Jackson wrote, quote.

I write to you today to respectfully urge your consideration for a full and absolute pardon for your son and for mine.

Former Congressman Jesse Jackson junior.

He has devoted his life to what he refers to as his ministry to public service and to fighting for equality and equity in civil and human rights for all Americans.

What would a pardon mean for you both personally and professionally which changed the course of my life.

It would be the official act by the president of the United States on behalf of the American people to say that that you are forgiven.

>> But not just forgive.

And I'm asking for.

But I did ask just for myself when I was released from prison, I did not file for pardon application.

I did not file for pardon with the Obama administration.

I spent my time advocating the Obama administration and subsequent administration for millions of men and women who've paid their debt to society in full to be considered for the president's pardon.

And I said at that time that I'm at the back of very, very long line of Americans who served time.

They made mistakes.

They erred in their lives.

But the president of the United States and the Constitution is the only vehicle that can restore their lives.

Even when I was exiting prison after I was sentenced, I said I still seek forgiveness and I still seek the restoration and the resurrection of my life and the life of others.

And I'm still right there.

Why not file for your own pardon or complete road application at the time?

Did you feel it was because >> it was better to advocate for for many others would not go ahead and get your started in the process because we learned just this week that you don't have to file for one Hunter.

Biden didn't file for one.

Paul Manafort didn't file for one.

Richard Nixon didn't file for one because the process does not require a pardon application.

And in fact, to you some of my time while in prison, I was helping men who could not read or write fill out these pardon applications and I end up being thrown in solitary confinement because they said I was being disruptive by helping men.

Understand their rights, the right to fill out this application, which ought be clear to every American right now that it is unnecessary.

This is a unilateral unfettered decision by the president of the United States.

Democrats and Republicans have misread it.

They've not used it correctly.

They've used it to help their friends, their political cronies and their family members.

But it's in our Constitution as a people.

It belongs to bus drivers.

It belongs to women to a woman who might have stolen a loaf of bread to feed her family and then was subsequently convicted, tried and sentenced.

It's an act of grace.

It's the restoration of her life.

And in the final analysis, it is the only tool that we have in the Constitution that provides a balance to justice when a sentence is given that overreach.

Is that where the punishment is greater than the crime?

The president of the United States has something in the Constitution called the finger of God.

It has the power to reach into the states.

It has the power to reach into the law and balance the scales of justice finger got also the title of a book that that you completed, that maybe we'll get to a little bit later on.

>> Remind us, you know, some of the challenges that you experience, you know, your former congressman, but you also have a criminal background now remind us some of the challenges that come along with I was elected in 1995, had a big name, but I had no money.

I didn't realize quite the gravity of what it meant to live in Chicago and live in Washington.

So to the tune of about $75,000 a year I lived in my campaign, the Chicago News media got it wrong.

Jesse Jackson junior took $750,000 from his campaign or even in your opening 3 quarters of a million dollars over 4.17 marked $1000 over the course of 10 years.

75,000 $1 a year to live in 2 cities, Chicago and Washington to go to work every day to not miss a boat in nearly 17 years as a congressman.

Yes, I lived in my campaign fund and I owned my behavior for that.

Lots of members of Congress find themselves in a similar situation.

Some of them live in their offices.

Some of live literally literally in their cars because they live in Maryland where they live in Virginia.

But imagine the congressman's the Congress persons from Ohio or the Congress person from California, the congresspeople from from Hawaii, very expensive territories.

I didn't come to Congress.

A millionaire.

I came there nearly fresh out of college.

Certainly fresh out of the seminary and fresh out of law school determined to be of service to my constituents and then obviously post post prison.

There are a lot of permit what we and have done a lot of reporting on permit punishments that that follows you around that make life challenging almost impossible to get a job.

>> Someone googles your name and your name shows up.

Having been through this process.

I was doing a radio show here in Chicago, not long ago.

A young man called in what may be older man.

His name Larry and Larry City got 2 tickets from his congressman to visit the White House.

He went to visit the White House.

He took his daughter.

He waited in line for 2 and a half hours when he got through security.

The Secret Service asked him to come over and have a seat.

He said what seems to be the problem sets or 40 years ago you committed a crime 40 years ago, your daughter's welcome in the White House.

But you can't get in the White House.

And on that moment, he said I'm voting Republican because he was trying to get into the Joe Biden White House.

Is it possible that our system actually holes a conviction from 40 years.

Pryor over person's head.

Think about Cliff Kelley at its at WTO in.

Convicted 50 years ago.

Think about Harold Washington attacks offense still on pardoned.

So I'm advocating for Washington apartment.

I'm advocating for quick Kelly's pardon advocating for bus drivers and anyone else who needs the grace of God in their life because at this time in our country, I think we all do some Biden critics say that granting a pardon for political crimes sets a dangerous precedent.

Would you say to that?

>> That's exactly what the pardon powers for the extracted from Matthew Chapter one verse 17, David and Jesus, David and Jesus, commander of the Army and militia and reprieves and pardons.

That's the function of the lineage of day.

But it's the lineage of David vested in one person to balance the scales of justice for the American people.

Of course, Joe Biden has the right to forgive his son, but not just his son, their millions of other sons and daughters who are entitled to the same active grace, the same grace of God.

What we actually elect is not a Democrat or Republican, but a person in every generation who's responsible for distributing the grace of God.

And we need to get back to that at the student.

Democracy is going to survive in a recent press briefing.

I believe it was just it was just this week, press secretary, Jean Pierre, she commented on Biden's use of presidential pardons.

Here's a little bit of that.

>> The president has so far issued 20 individual pardons and 122 commutations.

He's issued more sentence commutations at this point in his presidency than any of his recent predecessors at the same point in their first terms.

This is in addition to groundbreaking categorical.

Pardons that the president issue to address marijuana possession convictions, military convictions in the LGBTQ+.

community part to usually when stadium when it's the president's final final term around historically around the holidays.

And so certainly they'll be more to come.

>> She says they'll be more to come.

Are you hopeful that the president will hear you and your name will be on the list?

Well, I certainly like my name to on the list, but I'd like tens of thousands, if not millions of other men and women to be on the list as well.

There are 77 million men and women.

>> Who paid their debt to society.

They went through the entire system.

They've been indicted.

They had met a jury.

They have been sentenced.

They went and served their time.

Hunter Biden's never going to see it a day in jail.

These men and women serve their time.

They honored the Constitution.

They're out.

They're driving buses.

They're plumbers.

They worked the 3rd shift.

They're working hard, trying to sustain their families and sustain their lives.

And I made a determination what I did not file for pardon application, that I would be their spokesman where ever I could.

And whenever I could recently as early as 2022, 2023, Maxine Waters and Reverend Jackson asked me to fill out the pardon application because they felt it would enhance my platform to make the case for universal pardons for millions of people, Google it.

Jesse Jackson junior asks for mass pardons.

I'm the first one to call planning to file application to complete the farm I filed the application of 2022 and so I wanted to get that off the table so that the administration would not be able to say, well, you didn't complete the process.

What process the one hunter?

Just bypassed the one that others have bypassed because the process is another barrier to a man or woman's forgiveness in our system and it was not intended to be so when the architects put it in the Constitution on September, 17th 17 87, let's pivot and talk a little bit about your career.

You are a rising star in the Democratic Party.

>> From a famous political family, as we talk severe, possibly running for Senate or even higher office.

What were your ambitions before?

Well, I was honored to represent the people of the south side of Chicago in south suburbs.

>> I'm in a skinny kid with a funny name My sister brought in my home without Michelle Obama 1, one year from college and he expressed an interest in running for the state Senate.

I assisted in that campaign after he threw after he threw out was Palmer off of off the ballot.

And he asked me to services campaign co-chairman with the late Paul Simon is as a senator for as candidate for Senate of the United States.

Only Paul Simon.

I served in that capacity.

Unfortunately, he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Obviously I serve as national campaign co-chairman for scan a super president.

So I've been very generous in my own career in terms supporting other candidates for higher office.

Now, I think Brandis that I have a new and that is the restoration of human life.

I'm almost 60 years old and wherever I can advocate on the stage that I'm allowed to speak on for men and women who fallen who deserve the grace of God in our lives.

I'm going to that.

>> You clearly embarked on a return to the spotlight.

We just saw a little bit of video view joining your father in the family at the DNC this summer when he was honored on that first night, you've been speaking out about this issue.

Obviously Guest-hosting on W Vo and radio.

Why now?

why not now?

The nation's attention is turning to the pardon power.

>> And the launch of that season is when the turkeys get pardoned and then you think about the fact that one hunter at this stage of the president's administration, one hunter and 2 turkeys have been part and that's that's an affront to God.

From my perspective is outside the grace of God.

The president of the United States should be pardoning 10's of thousands of people a week.

That's the size and scale of the problem of men and women who need forgiveness and redemption in their lives.

And I'm here to remind him of that.

I served with Joe Biden when he was in the Senate.

I was in Congress when he was there.

I was I watched Joe Biden on the stage with my father in 1984. when he was running for president.

So I know the Biden family.

I know them very well.

I think I'm well position not to hold my tongue but to tell the truth that the American people need to hear about forgiveness around the time of your conviction.

Former Illinois Representative Aaron Schock.

He also made headlines for similar crimes.

>> His charges were dropped after he repaid those funds.

Do you think your case was handled fairly or is it much different from from that of Aaron Schock being that you're a black man and the son of Reverend Jesse Jackson.

Not only that I repay the funds but my home within a week or so is already in foreclosure as a result of of repaying the funds.

And yes, I did time and Mister Schock did not do time.

And so how do you balance the scales of justice will the way balance the scales of justice is with the pardon with the absolute full and unconditional pardon, giving people the opportunity to restart their lives over again.

It is simply impossible to do it without the pardon have applied for jobs at the university level.

>> Have undergraduate degree.

I have seminary degree have a law degree at 13 honorary doctorate degrees and I can't get a job teaching.

How much sense does that make after 13 years in Congress and with my knowledge of the U.S. government and the operation of our government throughout the world, it doesn't make sense.

And so if I'm going through what bus drivers going through it, a plumber's going through construction worker is going through its somebodys child.

They're like is no different than mine know better than mine.

No different than hunters.

They need to be active grace in their lives to begin their lives again.

Being Jesse Jackson junior obviously carries a significant weight.

I imagine you are your father's namesake, of course.

>> How do you balance whatever expectations, you know, might come with that name with your own personal ambitions and desires?

You know, I accepted a long time ago Brandis that.

My father's friends I have inherited them.

And I've also inherited his detractors.

And if you will, his his enemies or his front of neither of which I burned.

I'm not earned my father's friends and I'm not earned his enemies.

But I've had to work hard to convince his friends to be mine.

And I've had to to convince his enemies that I'm different, that I work that I represent people that I have my own ministry.

And that I mean, I mean, business when it comes to my ministry and that ruffles some feathers because I'm not little, I'm not just Jesse's boy, I have a perspective at 60 years old.

That matters to me in the history of our nation and more specifically the history of our people.

What advice was he giving you when you get knocked down?

You get back up.

The ground is no place for a champion.

That no test.

There's no testimony that the only time he drowned in a storm is if you keep your mouth open so close your mouth, open your eyes and start kicking tread through a storm.

He said storms don't last.

Always.

And I remind people that when they go through the storms of their life that they don't last always, we all know that your fathers for some of is just the isms.

A lot has changed course.

Since you were a sitting Congressman, Donald Trump is set to start his second term as president next month.

Now Trump in his first term.

He also commuted the sentence of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Trump has been convicted of crimes himself.

If not Biden.

Do you think President Trump is an avenue for you to pursue for your platform for pardons will first and foremost, let's be clear.

My father and I signed a letter to President Trump to commute Rod Blagojevich's sentence.

That didn't just happen on its own.

We asked the president on behalf of his family to let him out of prison because probable cause in his case simply did not happen.

I didn't offer him a thing to come a United States senator.

And that began my investigation in 2008 and it yielded other things because all federal guest investigations are wandering by 2012.

They found out that I live in my campaign fund and I own that the 8 year 5 were in Congress today.

I'd still be living in my campaign because it's too expensive to live in Chicago and Washington at the same time.

What I can tell you is I probably seek a pardon not for myself from Donald Trump, but for the millions of men and women who need access to the grace of God and forgiveness, few seconds left.

I know that you You have been working in broadcasting doing some guest hosting, as we W Vo in 20 seconds is political office out of the question?

What's next?

I can't speak for political office, but I certainly enjoyed broadcast journalism and I would love to work in broadcast journalism, whether it's on the radio or whether it's on television.

It's something I know a little