Alice Johnson: Trump answers Kim Kardashian's clemency plea
Kim Kardashian asked and President Trump answered. Why Kardashian advocated for Alice Johnson during her visit with President Trump and what you need to know about prison reform.
Kim Kardashian denied Thursday that she was being used as a White House pawn after she helped a great-grandmother get clemency from President Trump over nonviolent drug charges.
Kardashian shot down criticism in an interview on CNN. Kardashian campaigned on the behalf of Alice Marie Johnson.
“I think Kanye’s already given him legitimacy in that way,” Kardashian said referring to the comments her husband and Trump have made about each other. “I was working on this before. I don’t think I would be used. At the end of the day, he heard me out. We got the job done. What could he really use me for?”
Kim Kardashian West met with Trump last week. (White House)
Trump commuted Johnson’s life sentence on Wednesday, following Kardashian's high-profile campaign. Johnson, 63, was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole after being convicted of a first-time nonviolent drug offense.
“Justice has been served today, and it’s long overdue. Alice has more than paid her debt to society by serving over 21 years of a life-without-parole sentence as a nonviolent drug offender. Life in prison without the possibility of parole screams that a person is beyond hope, beyond redemption. And in Alice’s case, it is a punishment that absolutely did not fit the crime. President Trump saved Alice Johnson’s life today," Johnson's attorney Brittany K. Barnett said in a statement. "We are extremely grateful and hope the President continues to use his clemency power to save lives.”
Kardashian thanked Trump in a tweet.
Johnson was convicted in 1996 on eight criminal counts related to a Memphis-based cocaine trafficking operation. Her involvement with cocaine dealers reportedly came about after she lost her job, her son was killed, she got divorced and her home was foreclosed on.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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