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Presidential Clemency Record

Alice Marie Johnson

Commutation

  /   2017–2021

Record at a Glance

Clemency type
Commutation
Presidential term
2017–2021
Federal district
Western District of Tennessee
Offense
Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; attempted possession of 12 kilograms of cocaine with intent to deliver; attempted possession of 9 kilograms of cocaine with intent to distribute; attempted possession of 75 kilograms of cocaine with intent to distribute; attempted possession of 10 kilograms of cocaine with intent to distribute; conspiracy to commit money laundering; money laundering; structuring monetary transactions
Sentence
Life imprisonment; 5 years' supervised release (March 21, 1997)
Current status
Johnson serves as the White House Pardon Czar. She appeared under that title in the July 2026 annual report on White House staff and in a September 24, 2026 White House release. Her current public role centers on clemency advocacy and recommendations to the administration.

Original Case

Alice Marie Johnson was convicted in a single federal prosecution in the Western District of Tennessee involving a cocaine-distribution and money-laundering conspiracy. The covered convictions included conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute; four attempted-possession counts involving 12, 9, 75, and 10 kilograms of cocaine; conspiracy to commit money laundering; laundering approximately $1.5 million; and structuring financial transactions. These were separate counts within case No. 2:94-CR-20256-002, not separate criminal cases. On March 21, 1997, the court sentenced Johnson to life in prison followed by five years of supervised release. That life term remained in effect for more than two decades, until Trump commuted it in 2018.

Clemency

Trump first granted Johnson a commutation on June 6, 2018. The order reduced her life prison term to time served and led to her release, while leaving the convictions, the five-year term of supervised release, its conditions, and the other components of the sentence in place. Trump acted again on August 28, 2020, granting Johnson a full pardon for the same federal case. The second action was broader than the 2018 commutation: it pardoned the convictions rather than merely ending the remaining prison term.

Trump Connection

Johnson's relationship with Trump developed through clemency and later became an official advisory role. Trump commuted her life sentence in June 2018 and fully pardoned her in August 2020. In remarks delivered at the pardon ceremony, Trump said Johnson had since recommended other clemency candidates to his administration, placing her in a direct post-release advocacy relationship with the White House. That role continued into Trump's second administration. Official White House staff records later listed Johnson as Pardon Czar, and a September 2026 White House release identified her by that title. Her documented connection therefore progressed from clemency recipient, to advocate and adviser on other cases, to a formal White House clemency role.

Since Clemency

  • 2025-07-01 · political development

    The official White House annual staff report lists Alice M. Johnson as Pardon Czar.

    Legal Status: Government employment; no misconduct implied.

Sources

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