Former Obama advisor Van Jones praised President Donald Trump for his newly-appointed “pardon czar,” Alice Marie Johnson.
On Thursday, Trump appointed Johnson, a woman he pardoned during his first term, as “pardon czar” during a Black History Month event at the White House. Johnson had previously been convicted of nonviolent drug trafficking in Memphis, Tennessee, and, after serving 21 years, her life sentence was commuted by Trump.
Jones praised the president for this latest appointment as he spoke to liberal commentator Donny Deutsch on Monday’s episode of the “On Brand” podcast.
“He put Miss Alice Johnson — the formerly incarcerated Black woman who he freed while working with Kim Kardashian — he just put her in charge of pardons. That’s huge,” Jones said. “Somebody who has actually been incarcerated, been in the federal system, understands how the Department of Justice screws over people who should be coming home — some people who shouldn’t come home — but a lot of people that should come home, and they get screwed by the pardon office. She’s gonna fix that.”
“I plan to fulfill the trust that the president has placed in me,” Johnson said. “He’s given me specific marching orders and, actually, I’ve been working on this nonstop since my release. This is really a continuation of the work that I’ve already been doing. I’ve brought many pardon cases before the president in the past and one thing I can say about President Trump [is], he was very interested in their families. He wanted to know if they have a solid reentry program in place.”
Fox News’ Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
Alexander Hall is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to Alexander.hall@fox.com.
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