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Tennessee grandmother Alice Johnson’s has lifetime sentence commuted by President Trump after Kim Kardashian plea

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"109460728"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"1">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div><header id&equals;"top" class&equals;"top full-columns">&NewLine;<div id&equals;"fNP0vZ1Y6X1yTq" class&equals;"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-article-header" data-pb-name&equals;"Article Header" data-pb-curated&equals;"curated">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card-content align-left">&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"spaced spaced-xl spaced-top spaced-bottom"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;"><strong>Kim Kardashian intervention nudges President Trump to commutes Alice Johnson&&num;8217&semi;s sentence of life imprisonment<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"spaced spaced-xl spaced-top spaced-bottom"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;"><strong>Kardashian traveled to the White House to discuss prison reform with President Donald Trump on May 30&comma; 2018 <&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"spaced spaced-xl spaced-top spaced-bottom"><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;"><strong>Alice Marie Johnson&comma; 63&comma; was released from prison and reunited with her family on  Jun 6&comma; 2018<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"articleWide cleared">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"alpha">&NewLine;<div id&equals;"js-article-text" class&equals;"article-text wide ">&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;"><strong>&&num;8216&semi;I know it was a miracle God touched Kim Kardashian&&num;8217&semi;s heart&&num;8217&semi; &&num;8211&semi; Alice Johnson said regarding her reprieve<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;"><strong>Speaking after being freed from prison&comma; Johnson also thanked Trump for his &&num;8216&semi;mercy&&num;8217&semi; <&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi;"><strong>Trump president wishes her a &&num;8216&semi;wonderful life&&num;8217&semi; on Twi<&sol;strong><strong>tter<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<div>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"mol-para-with-font"><strong><img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-294310" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;06&sol;Alice-Johnson-and-daughter-on-NBCs-TODAY-show-June-7&period;png" alt&equals;"Alice Johnson and daughter on NBC's TODAY show June 7&period;png" width&equals;"659" height&equals;"347" &sol;>Alice Johnson and her daughter appeared on NBC&&num;8217&semi;s Today Show&comma; Thursday morning<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">After what man regarded as just another Kardashian self-promoting caper &comma; Kim Kardashian West is successful in her fight to free great-grandmother Alice Johnson&comma; 63&comma; from prison&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Johnson was jailed for life in 1996 for being part of a large cocaine trafficking ring&period; For her part in the crime she received a life sentence&comma; which for someone with no criminal record who had committed a non-violent offence was staggeringly harsh&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Alice Johnson had been a regular citizen until her downfall&period; She wedded her childhood sweetheart and for many years&comma; worked a regular job as a FedEx manager&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Things went south  for the mother-of-five after a bitter divorce&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The now single parent  lost her job due to a gambling addiction&comma;&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Her house went into foreclosure&period; To cap it all&comma; her youngest son Cory was killed in a motorcycle accident&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"mol-para-with-font"><strong><img class&equals;"alignnone size-full wp-image-294313" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;06&sol;Alice-Johnson-before-she-went-to-jail-21-years-ago&period;png" alt&equals;"Alice Johnson before she went to jail 21 years ago&period;png" width&equals;"858" height&equals;"434" &sol;>Alice Johnson before she went to jail 22 years ago<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">Johnson is the first to admit&colon;  &OpenCurlyQuote;My life began to spiral out of control&period; No mother should have to bury her child&period; This weight was unbelievable and it was a burden I couldn’t sustain&period; I made some very poor decisions out of desperation&period;’<br &sol;>&NewLine;Those poor decisions involved becoming a telephone &OpenCurlyQuote;mule’ for the drug traffickers&comma; passing messages between the distributors and sellers&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Ultimately&comma; she was caught and punished&period;&comma; handed a life sentence without parole for drug conspiracy and money laundering&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;header>&NewLine;<section id&equals;"left" class&equals;"left guttered width-100">&NewLine;<div id&equals;"fhCSAA1Y6X1yTq" class&equals;"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-article-body" data-pb-name&equals;"Article Body &lpar;Elements&rpar;" data-pb-curated&equals;"curated">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"collection collection-cards">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<h6 data-page&equals;"1"><strong><img class&equals;"alignnone size-full wp-image-294305" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;06&sol;Kim-Kardashian-and-Donald-Trump-at-the-White-House-1&period;jpeg" alt&equals;"Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump at the White House 1&period;jpeg" width&equals;"1400" height&equals;"1005" &sol;>Kim Kardashian traveled to the White House to discuss prison reform with President Donald Trump on May 30&comma; 2018&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<p data-page&equals;"1">22 years into the sentence&comma; along comes Kim Kardashian West who picked up her children&&num;8217&semi;s long campaign to commute their mother&&num;8217&semi;s inhumane sentence&period; Kim took the fight to congress&comma; before requesting a summit with the White House seeking the release of Alice Johnson&period; The summit turned out to be a rousing success&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>President Trump commuted the sentence of Alice Johnson on Wednesday&comma; days after Kim Kardashian traveled to the White House to advocate for the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;twitter&period;com&sol;WVTM13&sol;status&sol;1004489607260622849">Tennessee grandmother’s release&period;<&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card card-pull-center collection-item" data-type&equals;"oembed&lowbar;response">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"element element-oembed oembed-twitter">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"SandboxRoot env-bp-350" data-twitter-event-id&equals;"0">&NewLine;<div id&equals;"twitter-widget-0" class&equals;"EmbeddedTweet EmbeddedTweet--edge EmbeddedTweet--mediaForward media-forward js-clickToOpenTarget js-tweetIdInfo tweet-InformationCircle-widgetParent" lang&equals;"en" data-click-to-open-target&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;twitter&period;com&sol;WVTM13&sol;status&sol;1004489607260622849" data-iframe-title&equals;"Twitter Tweet" data-dt-full&equals;"&percnt;&lbrace;hours12&rcub;&colon;&percnt;&lbrace;minutes&rcub; &percnt;&lbrace;amPm&rcub; - &percnt;&lbrace;day&rcub; &percnt;&lbrace;month&rcub; &percnt;&lbrace;year&rcub;" data-dt-explicit-timestamp&equals;"6&colon;25 PM - Jun 6&comma; 2018" data-dt-months&equals;"Jan&vert;Feb&vert;Mar&vert;Apr&vert;May&vert;Jun&vert;Jul&vert;Aug&vert;Sep&vert;Oct&vert;Nov&vert;Dec" data-dt-am&equals;"AM" data-dt-pm&equals;"PM" data-dt-now&equals;"now" data-dt-s&equals;"s" data-dt-m&equals;"m" data-dt-h&equals;"h" data-dt-second&equals;"second" data-dt-seconds&equals;"seconds" data-dt-minute&equals;"minute" data-dt-minutes&equals;"minutes" data-dt-hour&equals;"hour" data-dt-hours&equals;"hours" data-dt-abbr&equals;"&percnt;&lbrace;number&rcub;&percnt;&lbrace;symbol&rcub;" data-dt-short&equals;"&percnt;&lbrace;day&rcub; &percnt;&lbrace;month&rcub;" data-dt-long&equals;"&percnt;&lbrace;day&rcub; &percnt;&lbrace;month&rcub; &percnt;&lbrace;year&rcub;" data-scribe&equals;"page&colon;tweet" data-tweet-id&equals;"1004489607260622849" data-twitter-event-id&equals;"1">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"tweet-InformationCircle--top tweet-InformationCircle--topEdge tweet-InformationCircle" data-scribe&equals;"element&colon;notice">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>Johnson was 42 years old when she was first jailed on charges related to drug possession and money laundering in the 1990s&comma; according to court documents&period; She was caught in a cocaine trafficking plot run out of her Memphis apartment&comma; where she stashed her illicit earnings and passed along messages to her co-conspirators&comma; who authorities believe netted millions in the illegal scheme&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Ms&period; Johnson has accepted responsibility for her past behavior and has been a model prisoner over the past two decades&comma;” the White House acknowledged in its official statement&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Despite receiving a life sentence&comma; Alice worked hard to rehabilitate herself in prison and act as a mentor to fellow inmates&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<h6><img class&equals;"alignnone size-full wp-image-294304" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;06&sol;Alice-Johnson-release-1&period;jpeg" alt&equals;"Alice Johnson release 1&period;jpeg" width&equals;"680" height&equals;"383" &sol;><strong>Alice Johnson&comma; alights from the SUV and screams joyfully as she races to be reunited with her family the moment she was released from prison&comma; at 6&colon;25 PM  on  Jun 6&comma; 2018   <&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"Tweet-body e-entry-content" data-scribe&equals;"component&colon;tweet">Kardashian met with Trump and Jared Kushner in the Oval Office last week in a bid to convince them to release Johnson from the federal prison in Aliceville&comma; Ala&period;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;BEST NEWS EVER&excl;” Kim mogul <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;twitter&period;com&sol;KimKardashian&sol;status&sol;1004412120795172866" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">tweeted<&sol;a> Wednesday&comma; thanking the President&comma; his son-in-law Jared and &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;everyone who has showed compassion &amp&semi; contributed countless hours to this important moment for Ms&period; Alice Marie Johnson&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>The reality star added&colon; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Her commutation is inspirational &amp&semi; gives hope to so many others who are also deserving of a second chance&period; I hope to continue this important work by working together with organizations who have been fighting this fight for much longer than I have and deserve the recognition&period;”<br &sol;>&NewLine;Kardashian got to break the news to Johnson over the phone&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Telling her for the first time and hearing her screams while crying together is a moment I will never forget&comma;” the social media sensation tweeted&comma; saying it &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;will forever be one of my best memories&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>The reality television star initially became involved in Johnson’s case in October after watching a Mic Opinion video of Johnson sharing her story from behind bars&period; She tweeted the clip and then enlisted the help of her personal attorney Shawn Chapman Holley for legal support&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>Holley told the website The Blast that she was on the &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;wonderful&comma; emotional and amazing phone call with Alice&comma; Kim and Alice’s lawyers&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;It was a moment I will never forget&period; Once Alice’s family joined the call&comma; the tears never stopped flowing&comma;” she said&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Speaking to NBC a day after her release&comma; a very happy Alice Johnson smiled from ear to ear on Thursday as she spoke out for the first time since being freed from federal prison on Wednesday&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The 63-year-old grandmother had her life sentence commuted by President Trump&comma; after Kim Kardashian West went to him with her story and asked for a pardon&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Sitting next to her 45-year-old daughter&comma; who she has been separated from for the last 22 years&comma; Johnson said she&&num;8217&semi;s excited that she has another shot at life&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&&num;8216&semi;We are going to appreciate every single moment that we have&period; Sometimes&comma; we take family and life for granted&period; I&&num;8217&semi;ll never do that again&comma;&&num;8217&semi; Johnson told the<a class&equals;"class" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;today&period;com&sol;video&sol;alice-johnson-on-being-freed-by-trump-it-s-a-miracle-1250201155916" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"nofollow noopener"> Today<&sol;a> show&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h6><strong><img class&equals;"alignnone size-full wp-image-294306" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;06&sol;Alice-Johnson-release-2&period;jpeg" alt&equals;"Alice Johnson release 2&period;jpeg" width&equals;"1400" height&equals;"893" &sol;>Alice Johnson sprints towards her family after being released on Wednesday evening<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><b><img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-294312" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;06&sol;Alice-Johnson-runs-into-the-embrace-of-her-daughter-and-other-family-members-after-her-release&period;png" alt&equals;"Alice Johnson runs into the embrace of her daughter and other family members after her release" width&equals;"680" height&equals;"375" &sol;>Johnson is enveloped in the warm embrace of her daughter and other jubilant family members on Wednesday evening after she was reunited with them<&sol;b><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<p>One of Johnson’s attorneys&comma; Brittany K&period; Barnett&comma; similarly applauded Johnson’s clemency&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Justice has been served today&comma; and it’s long overdue&period; Alice has more than paid her debt to society by serving over 21 years of a life-without-parole sentence as a non-violent drug offender&comma;” she said in a statement&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Life without the possibility of parole screams that a person is beyond hope&comma; beyond redemption&period; And in Alice’s case&comma; it is a punishment that absolutely did not fit the crime&period; President Trump saved Alice Johnson’s life today&period; We are extremely grateful and hope the President continues to use his clemency power to save lives&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>Samuel T&period; Morison&comma; a criminal defense lawyer in Washington D&period;C&period; and former staff attorney at the pardon office&comma; commended Trump and his willingness to show &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;some independence from the Department of Justice” while emphasizing the importance of having a &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;defined process” for issuing pardons and clemency moving forward&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;My concern would be that we’re going to be seeing a free-for-all&period; That everybody and their brother &comma; typically the people that have money and connections&comma; are going to go directly to the White House to get pardons&comma;” he explained&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;There’s nothing wrong with that&comma; it’s just not a strong practice&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h6><strong><img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-294307" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;06&sol;Kim-Kardashian-tells-Alice-Johnson-she-is-released-1&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Kim Kardashian tells Alice Johnson she is released 1&period;jpg" width&equals;"671" height&equals;"308" &sol;>Kim herself broke the news to Alice that her sentence was being commuted <&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><strong><img class&equals;"alignnone size-full wp-image-294311" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;06&sol;Trump-wished-newly-released-Alice-Johnson-a-wonderful-life-in-a-tweet-Thursday-morning&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Trump wished newly released Alice Johnson a 'wonderful life' in a tweet Thursday morning&period;jpg" width&equals;"634" height&equals;"184" &sol;>President Trump wished the newly released Alice Johnson a &&num;8216&semi;wonderful life&&num;8217&semi; in a tweet Thursday morning<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>Others had reservations if about the specific pardon of Alice Johnson&comma; but the process involved in obtaining that presidential reprieve&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Political commentator and author Jared Yates Sexton was significantly more put off by the President’s decision to commute Johnson’s sentence&period; It &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;should terrify everyone&comma;” he <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;twitter&period;com&sol;JYSexton&sol;status&sol;1004398648535502848" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">tweeted<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Trump can be manipulated into anything by anyone willing to flatter him&period; She deserved a pardon&comma; but it’s completely contradictory to the only principles Trump has held firm with&period; He moved on it because a celebrity flattered and appealed to him&period; That’s… not great&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p> Johnson’s release comes amid reports that the President has become &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;obsessed” with his constitutional power to intervene on such matters&period; A White House official&comma; speaking on the condition of anonymity&comma; told the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;washingtonpost&period;com&sol;politics&sol;trump-fixates-on-pardons-could-soon-give-reprieve-to-63-year-old-woman-after-meeting-with-kim-kardashian&sol;2018&sol;06&sol;05&sol;37ac6cb6-683d-11e8-bbc5-dc9f3634fa0a&lowbar;story&period;html&quest;utm&lowbar;term&equals;&period;9d5caf33084b&amp&semi;noredirect&equals;on" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">Washington Post<&sol;a> Trump’s power to pardon has become his &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;new favorite thing” to talk about&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;It’s all part of the show&comma;” said veteran Republican consultant Ed Rollins&comma; a former strategist for a pro-Trump super PAC&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;It’s not a rational or traditional process but about celebrity or who they know&comma; or who he sees on &OpenCurlyQuote;Fox &amp&semi; Friends&period;’<br &sol;>&NewLine;He’s sending the message&comma; &OpenCurlyQuote;I can do whatever I want&comma; and I could certainly pardon someone down the line on the Russia probe&period;’ ”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>The President had taken took to Twitter on Monday to tout his ability&comma; claiming he has the &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;absolute right” to pardon himself&period; He also noted he would do no such thing&comma; given that he has done nothing wrong&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h6><strong><br &sol;>&NewLine;<img class&equals;"alignnone wp-image-294309" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2018&sol;06&sol;Kim-Kardashian-4&period;jpg" alt&equals;"Kim Kardashian 4&period;jpg" width&equals;"656" height&equals;"817" &sol;><br &sol;>&NewLine;Kim Kardashian successfully nudged the Trump administration to circumvent Dept Of Justice protocol and commute the life sentence for Alice Johnson&comma; after she had served 22 years on a life sentence&comma; for a non-violent drug crime<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>The White House&comma; it has been reported&comma; recently assembled the pardoning paperwork for at least 30 people&comma; two sources familiar with the situation told <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;cnn&period;com&sol;2018&sol;06&sol;06&sol;politics&sol;donald-trump-pardons&sol;index&period;html" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">CNN<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>Trump has reportedly bypassed the traditional method of reviewing possible pardons and clemencies through the Justice Department&comma; taking action on his own&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>Earlier this week&comma; Trump pardoned conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza&comma; who pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance laws in 2014&period; He also recently told reporters he was mulling a pardon for Martha Stewart and a commutation for Illinois Gov&period; Rod Blagojevich&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>Trump’s pardoning spree stands in contrast to habits of recent Presidents past&period; Historically&comma; presidents have issued clemency and pardons throughout their terms&comma; though the Clinton&comma; Bush and Obama administrations mostly waited to the conclusion of their time in office&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>Since taking office in 2017&comma; Trump has either pardoned or granted clemency to six people he felt were treated unfairly&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p>In addition to D’Souza and Johnson&comma; he’s handed forgiveness to former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio&comma; heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson&comma; Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff I&period; Lewis &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Scooter” Libby and former Navy sailor Kristian Saucier&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"card collection-item" data-type&equals;"text">&NewLine;<div class&equals;" card-content ">&NewLine;<p data-page&equals;"2">Democrats in the House Judiciary Committee say they’re concerned Trump’s gotten pardon-happy&comma; and wrote a letter to White House counsel Don McGahn to explain his pardon process&period; Trump’s actions&comma; they noted&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;appear to cut against legal consensus and long-established practices at the Department of Justice&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p data-page&equals;"2">&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;section>&NewLine;

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