Does Trump even know a formal pardon process exists?

Published June 10, 2018 4:00am ET



President Trump recently tweeted that he had the “absolute right” to pardon himself. Is he right? We’ll see. Regardless, the president indisputably has the power to grant federal clemency for others. And the president has not been shy about using this power, most recently commuting 63-year-old Alice Johnson’s life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense.

According to reports, Johnson’s path to clemency began when television celebrity Kim Kardashian West learned of her case from a video posted on social media. In May, West met Trump at the White House to lobby for Johnson’s release from prison. A week later, the president commuted her sentence. Today, she is at home in Memphis, Tenn.

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