President Trump has become fixated on his ability to issue pardons, asking his aides to compile a list of candidates and stirring dissent in the West Wing with his seemingly celebrity-driven decisions, the Washington Post reports. On Wednesday, Trump commuted the life sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, 63, who was convicted of a nonviolent crime, after meeting with Kim Kardashian to discuss her case. The move was resisted by his chief of staff and a top White House lawyer. The presidential pardon holds special resonance for Trump as an area where he has almost unchecked power as other aspects of his presidency, especially special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, are outside his control.
Trump entered the White House expecting to have few limits on his power, envisioning the presidency as more like his private business than a plodding bureaucracy. On pardons, he can act unchecked, and has floated the idea he has authority to pardon himself. A White House official said Trump is “obsessed” with pardons. He may sign a dozen in the next two months, this person added. “It’s all part of the show,” said Republican consultant Ed Rollins. “It’s not a rational or traditional process but about celebrity… ” Trump’s aides see Kardashian’s celebrity imprimatur as crucial. The Johnson case caused consternation in the West Wing, with chief of staff John Kelly and White House counsel Donald McGahn disturbed by the process. Kelly reviewed Johnson’s background and conviction — she was sentenced to life for drug possession and money laundering — and was not convinced she deserves a pardon. Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and adviser who helped arrange the meeting with Kardashian in the Oval Office last week, pushed for a Johnson pardon.