Trump appoints new 'pardon czar'

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he has appointed Alice Marie Johnson, a woman he pardoned in his first term, as "pardon czar" to advise on other cases.

"Alice was in prison for doing something that today probably wouldn't even be prosecuted," Trump said at an event celebrating Black History Month at the White House.

"She spent 22 years in prison — 22 years. She had another 22 years left. Can you believe it? And I pardoned her, and it was one of the best pardons," he told the crowd that included Johnson.

"We're going to be listening to your recommendation and pardons... She's going to be my pardon czar," Trump said.

U.S. reality television star Kim Kardashian successfully petitioned Trump in 2018 to pardon Johnson, who had served nearly 22 years of a life sentence for a non-violent drug offense.

Johnson, who was 63 when she was released, was a first-time offender who was convicted of cocaine possession and money laundering. Trump initially commuted her sentence and later pardoned her.

© Agence France-Presse