'Divine intervention' brought Trump, Kardashian West together on clemency, says Alice Marie Johnson

Alice Marie Johnson said Thursday that divine intervention brought President TrumpDonald TrumpTrump: I am not using campaign funds for new plane Do not be fueled: How investing in renewables can save the world and neutralize modern Russia Wife of Clarence Thomas says she attended Jan. 6 'Stop the Steal' rally MORE and Kim Kardashian West together to release her from prison and grant her clemency. 

"Did you ever in your wildest dreams think that one of the biggest celebrities in the country, some would say the world, and the president of the United States, the leader of the free world, would be directly involved in your case and giving you your freedom?" Hill TV's Buck Sexton asked Johnson on "Rising."

"Never," Johnson told Sexton and co-host Krystal Ball. "I know that it was divine intervention. There's no way that this just all came together, as you say, Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump teaming up to become a team. No one saw that coming, and definitely not me." 
 
Johnson was serving a life sentence on nonviolent drug and money laundering charges. She had served 21 years when Kardashian West brought the case to Trump's attention during a White House visit in May. 
 
Trump formally granted clemency to Johnson last month. 
 
"Ms. Johnson has accepted responsibility for her past behavior and has been a model prisoner over the past two decades," the White House said in a statement. "While this administration will always be very tough on crime, it believes that those who have paid their debt to society and worked hard to better themselves while in prison deserve a second chance."
 
Johnson thanked Trump shortly after she was released last month. 
 
“I want to say to President Trump, I am going to make you proud that you gave me this second chance in life. And I will not disappoint the American public or the world who had so much faith in me,” Johnson said in an interview with CNN.

“All I can say is thank you President Trump, and I love you President Trump,” she added.

Johnson had been expected to be released in December 2016, when former President Obama granted clemency to 231 people; however, she was not included. 

During her time in prison, Johnson became an ordained minister and mentored other young women. 

Kardashian and others have cited the fact that Johnson was under financial duress when she committed her crimes, along with the fact that Johnson has a nonviolent past, as reasons she deserved to be granted clemency. 

— Julia Manchester