Donald Trump Says He May Pardon Muhammad Ali; Ali’s Lawyer Says “Pardon Is Unnecessary”

Last month, Donald #Trump pardoned African American heavyweight boxing champion, Jack Johnson, for racially motivated charges linked to his relationship with a white woman in 1913. Earlier this week with the help of reality tv extraordinaire #KimKardashian, Trump pardoned 63-year-old Alice Marie Johnson, a great-grandmother who was serving a life sentence for a nonviolent drug crime. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Now, the Celebrity-in-Chief is considering extending his services to a few more high-profile celebrities, including the late great boxing champion #MuhammadAli. 

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“I’m thinking about Muhammad Ali,” Trump said on Friday. “I’m thinking about that very seriously and some others.” 

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Ali was convicted of draft evasion during the Vietnam War. However, his conviction was overturned in 1971, when the Supreme Court ruled in his favor. Therefore, a presidential pardon would be unnecessary. 

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“We appreciate President Trump’s sentiment, but a pardon is unnecessary,” Ali’s lawyer, Rob Tweel, wrote, according to Courier Journal. “The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Muhammad Ali in a unanimous decision in 1971. There is no conviction from which a pardon is needed.”