Former inmate Alice Johnson now has a role in the White House — serving as President Donald Trump‘s “pardon czar.”
“Alice, you’ve been an inspiration to people, and we’re going to be listening to your recommendation on pardons,” Trump announced during a Black History Month event Thursday. “You’re going to go over, and you’re going to be — she’s going to be my pardon czar. And you’re going to find people just like you that this should not have happened to.”
If Trump makes a habit of listening to those recommendations, Johnson will find herself a very powerful and sought-after person, as presidents enjoy vast powers to wipe out convictions via pardons. Former President Joe Biden even used preemptive pardons to shield associates and members of his family from future prosecution.
It was an amazing turnaround for Johnson, who went from serving a life sentence in prison all the way to being praised by the president inside the White House walls.
Johnson is a Memphis native who received a life sentence for nonviolent drug offenses in 1996 and went on to serve 22 years in prison. She then got the attention of someone with the ear of Trump — Kim Kardashian, who learned of Johnson’s predicament via X.
Trump met with Kardashian in 2018 to ask for the pardon of Johnson, who was 62 years old at the time and still stuck behind bars. Kardashian also lobbied Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and then-White House adviser, for Johnson to be released.
After the meeting, Trump signed a commutation for Johnson.
“Today, President Donald J. Trump granted a commutation to Alice Marie Johnson, a 63-year-old great-grandmother who has served almost 22 years in Federal prison for a first-time criminal offense,” the White House said at the time. “Despite receiving a life sentence, Alice worked hard to rehabilitate herself in prison and act as a mentor to her fellow inmates.”
Kardashian responded on X, saying it was the “best news ever.”
BEST NEWS EVER!!!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 https://t.co/JUbpbE1Bk0
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) June 6, 2018
After being released, Johnson said she had a “feeling of betrayal” when former President Barack Obama left office with her still behind bars.
“From what everyone was saying, the Obama administration would be the one that would set you free, but I was still not set free. So, to put your faith in a man was not a good thing to do,” Johnson said in July 2018, one month after being released.
“And not only was I left behind, but many others were left behind also,” Johnson said. “There was a feeling of betrayal because I had so much hope that I was going to come out.”
She received a full pardon in 2020, appearing with Trump in the Oval Office to thank him a few months before that year’s election.
On Thursday, she was back at the White House, this time to receive an assignment from the president.
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“Alice was in prison for doing something that today probably wouldn’t even be prosecuted,” Trump said. “She spent 22 years in prison, 22 years, and she had another 22 years left. Can you believe it? And I pardoned her, and it was one of the best pardons. She happened to be on the wrong telephone line. Is that true? She was on a telephone call, and I’m not saying it was perfect, but it wasn’t worth 40 or 50 years.”
“So you’re going to look, and you’re going to make recommendations,” the president added, “and I’ll follow those recommendations, OK?”
