President Trump is “considering a number of different pardons and commutations” after making a series of comments on possible recipients, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Monday.
Sanders did not directly answer a question about whether Trump would free Alice Johnson at the request of celebrity Kim Kardashian, who visited the White House Wednesday with the request. Johnson has been jailed for life since 1996 on drug-dealing charges.
The day after meeting with Kardashian, Trump announced Thursday he would pardon conservative author Dinesh D’Souza, who pleaded guilty in 2014 to a campaign-finance felony. Trump told reporters he was considering pardoning celebrity chef Martha Stewart and commuting the sentence of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the Illinois Democrat who tried to sell President Barack Obama’s Senate seat.
Although Johnson did not immediately get clemency, she told the Washington Examiner in a Friday email from prison she remained optimistic.
“I’m feeling very hopeful after speaking with Kim about how well the meeting went with President Trump,” Johnson said in an exchange facilitated by her longtime supporter Amy Povah, who leads the CAN-DO Foundation. “Kim is my war angel and continues to be relentless in her pursuit of my freedom! The phenomenal outpouring of support and well wishes from the public has been a balm for my spirit.”
So far, Trump has issued one prison commutation and five pardons. But the pace is quickening, giving hope to prison inmates, but also attracting criticism over Trump’s apparent reliance on the advice of celebrities and allies. A week before meeting Kardashian, Trump bestowed a posthumous pardon on boxer Jack Johnson at the behest of “Rocky” actor Sylvester Stallone, saying Johnson’s early 1900s conviction was a race-motivated injustice.
Sanders said Monday that “the president looks at each case individually to see if something wrong has been done or whether mercy should be given. That’s what he’s done and will continue to do in the future. He has the authority to make that decision.”
Press briefing questions about Trump’s choice of recent clemency actions mingled with inquiries about his declaration on Twitter that he can pardon himself, a legal contention that has never been tested.
