President Trump’s advisers are considering Alice Marie Johnson, who was serving a life sentence for a drug conviction when the president commuted her sentence during his first term, to be the “pardon czar,” according to three people familiar with the discussions.
It was not immediately clear what the role would entail, but Ms. Johnson, at the end of Mr. Trump’s first term, said she wanted to work on behalf of people she believed should be considered for clemency.
Ms. Johnson’s appointment has not been finalized, and like many things in Mr. Trump’s world, plans could change. When reached by phone, Ms. Johnson declined to comment. A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
Ms. Johnson, whose case was originally brought to Mr. Trump’s attention by Kim Kardashian, has become a vocal supporter of the president. Some of Mr. Trump’s advisers see her as being politically helpful to him over the years; during the 2020 presidential race, the Trump campaign featured her in a Super Bowl ad in an effort to reach Black voters.
Still, her case, and the new role of “pardon czar,” show how Mr. Trump’s approach to criminal justice reform is rife with contradictions. He signed the bipartisan First Step Act, which aimed to reduce prison sentences for certain nonviolent drug crimes, during his first term, then told advisers privately soon afterward that he regretted it, according to multiple officials working with him at the time.
During his 2024 campaign, he called for shooting thieves who steal from drugstores and for the death penalty for drug traffickers and dealers. Then, in one of his first acts as president in his second term, he issued a grant of clemency to all of the nearly 1,600 people charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — violent and nonviolent alike.
Ms. Johnson’s case was seen as an example of draconian sentencing laws that disproportionately affected nonviolent offenders, particularly women and members of minority communities. Her case became a rallying cry for reform after a viral video of Ms. Johnson speaking from prison caught the attention of Ms. Kardashian.
Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who was then a presidential adviser, arranged a meeting between Ms. Kardashian and Mr. Trump in May 2018 — on Ms. Johnson’s 63rd birthday — and Ms. Kardashian pleaded her case.
Mr. Trump commuted Ms. Johnson’s sentence one week later, freeing her from prison. He then issued a full pardon during his 2020 re-election campaign, which wiped the conviction from her record.
Mr. Trump’s decision faced opposition within his administration and among some allies.
Ms. Johnson had been locked up in an Alabama federal prison since 1996 after being sentenced to life plus 25 years in prison as a first-time, nonviolent offender. She had been charged with cocaine possession and money laundering in a drug conspiracy case.
A single mother of five in Memphis, she had a history of gambling, unemployment, bankruptcy and foreclosure before becoming involved in a drug ring. She was arrested in 1993 as part of an operation that transported cocaine from Houston to Memphis, relaying coded messages between conspirators.
She also purchased a house with a down payment that she structured with three separate money orders under the $10,000 reporting limit. Under mandatory sentencing rules, she was given a life term without parole, even though she had never sold drugs. Several co-defendants who testified against her were sentenced to probation or terms of up to 10 years.
Ms. Johnson had served two decades of the sentence, during which she became a grandmother and great-grandmother, took educational and vocational programs, volunteered to help sick and dying prisoners, and helped coordinate the prison’s Special Olympics.
Mr. Trump cited Ms. Johnson’s case, among others, at the signing ceremony for the First Step Act.
“Alice Johnson — I let her out. She was in jail for 22 years. She had another 28 years. And the crime was, let’s say — I think most of you would agree — was not worthy of a 50-year term in prison,” he said.
“And she came out, and I’ll never forget the look on her face,” Mr. Trump said, going on to describe watching her be embraced by her family. “I said, what a beautiful thing that is.”
First Step was one of the most consequential criminal justice reform bills in decades. It combined new funding for anti-recidivism programs, the expansion of early-release credits for prisoners and the reduction of certain mandatory minimum sentences. The bill would help shape the experiences of tens of thousands of current inmates and future offenders. Thousands were released from federal custody after its passage.
In a November 2024 television interview, Ms. Johnson said that after her release she personally submitted over 100 petitions to the White House after Mr. Trump asked her to compile a list of people she believed deserved clemency.
“I’m so blessed to be free myself,” she said. “The work continues. I can’t help but advocate for people who are incarcerated, because I’m really one of them. I’m just a free one of them.”
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