In her first interview since securing Johnson's freedom, the reality star said Ivanka Trump played a pivotal role.
Kim Kardashian West is fighting back against claims that she was used as a political pawn by President Trump as she secured the release of Alice Marie Johnson.
The reality star and business mogul spoke out Thursday night for the first time since Johnson, a 63-year-old great-grandmother, had her sentence for a non-violent drug conviction commuted after 22 years behind bars.
Speaking to CNN’s Van Jones, Kardashian West said her personal goal to see Johnson's freedom was met because of the president, and denied anything nefarious was at play.
“At the end of the day, he heard me out, we got the job done — so what could he really use me for?” she said.
Kardashian West first learned of Johnson’s case on social media and set out to make a difference.
“I reached out to Ivanka [Trump] and I said, 'I know that you have compassion for women like this,'” Kardashian West said. “She immediately got it and she immediately felt it."
Ivanka Trump then involved her husband, Jared Kushner, who Kardashian West said “has really been amazing.”
Kardashian West met with President Trump in late May. A week later, Johnson was free.
The "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star is now hoping to meet Johnson.
“I know I’m going to cry so much when I see her,” Kardashian West said as she fought tears. “But, just to know that we changed one person’s life...”
It appears Johnson is among the first of many Americans Trump plans to offer pardons and commuted sentences, as the president told reporters he’s just getting started.
“I’m thinking about someone, you know, who went through a lot,” Trump said. "Mohammed Ali."
The boxing legend was found guilty of evading the draft during the Vietnam War, but the conviction was overturned in 1971. Therefore, a pardon is redundant.
"We appreciate President Trump’s sentiment, but a pardon is unnecessary," a lawyer for the Ali family said.
Trump denied he would pardon his former aides currently under investigation in the Russia probe, saying they haven’t been convicted of anything.
"There’s nothing to pardon," Trump said.
When asked if he believes he is above the law, Trump said, "I never want anybody to be above the law, and yes, I do have an absolute right to pardon myself, but I didn’t do anything wrong."
RELATED STORIES
