Trump meets Florida woman whose prison sentence he commuted
President Donald Trump met privately on Wednesday at the White House with a group of women who he gave clemency to last month, including a Florida resident convicted of Medicare fraud.
Judith Negron, 48, of Hialeah served time in the same prison as Alice Johnson, who has become widely known as the example of Trump’s criminal justice reform efforts. Johnson and reality television star Kim Kardashian accompanied Negron to the meeting with Trump and members of his staff. Kardashian first brought Johnson’s case to the president’s attention.
Speaking to McClatchy by phone after the meeting, Negron said of her interaction with Trump, “He is passionate about prison reform, and he was receptive. As we can see, the First Step Act that has been introduced and passed, so there is hope that this administration will be able to do something for individuals like the situation that I lived through.”
The First Step Act became law in 2018. Jared Kushner, a senior advisor to Trump, was a major proponent of the law. Trump’s son in law and his wife Ivanka Trump were also at the Oval Office meeting along with White House Counsel Pat Cipollone. The president posed for photos and heard from the former convicts about their experiences in correctional facilities, a person familiar with the meeting said.
Negron said she “thanked him profusely for the second chance he’s given me on life.” She vowed to be an advocate for other people in jail sentenced to lengthy terms who she saw as worthy of relief.
At Trump’s request last year, Johnson provided a list of names to the president for possible clemency—some of whom are still under review by the administration. Negron was one of the people on Johnson’s list, a source with knowledge told McClatchy.
Trump commuted Negron’s sentence on Feb. 18. She served eight years in prison after a jury conviction in August 2011 on 24 counts of conspiracy, fraud, paying kickbacks and money laundering.
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 8:48 PM.
