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.”
WHO IS ALICE MARIE JOHNSON, THE GREAT-GRANDMOTHER TRUMP GRANTED CLEMENCY TO?
Former Obama adviser Van Jones spoke about President Trump’s past and present term in the White House. (Screenshot/”On Brand” podcast YouTube)
“As somebody who has worked on criminal justice, as you know, for 30 years, having someone who’s a formerly incarcerated person in charge of going through all these pardons and making sure that people get a fair shot – I think that’s a very good thing,” he continued.
Deutsch quoted a post Jones had written in late January, when he said, “Trump’s heart CAN be touched. He has been moved, many times, to help downtrodden individuals — whether in his employ or in federal prisons (First Step Act). So don’t assume that moral appeals can never work with Trump. In the right forum and circumstances, they can and do.”
Jones stood by his words describing Trump’s first term in office, saying that Trump brought formerly incarcerated individuals to the White House and allowed them to speak at press conferences. “I don’t remember Biden or Obama or Clinton doing anything remotely like that.”
Alice Marie Johnson, who had her sentence commuted by U.S. President Donald Trump (L) after serving 21 years in prison for cocaine trafficking, thanks the press during a celebration of the First Step Act in the East Room of the White House April 01, 2019 in Washington, DC. The First Step Act passed Congress with bipartisan support in December 2018, with more than 500 inmates released as a result. Trump praised the reform legislation as proof that the United States “believes in redemption.” (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
However, Jones still had criticism of Trump.
“Now I think we are in a five-alarm fire and I would be radically, rabidly opposed to even my beloved Barack Obama doing this stuff. We have a system. It’s not perfect, but it’s designed to work a particular way so that you don’t have a king, you don’t have somebody who just has unchecked power, and he’s just, you know, he’s grabbing authorities that are not allowed,” he said.
Johnson has spoken positively about her role in Trump’s administration, telling Fox News about how eager she is to get started.
Van Jones delivers a speech at the 2019 African Landing Commemorative Ceremony, observing the 400 year anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Virginia, in Hampton, Virginia, U.S., August 24, 2019. REUTERS/Michael A. McCoy (REUTERS/Michael A. McCoy)
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“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.
