Say to her. First, something youll only see here. Kim kardashian west breaking her silence, speaking out for the first time about her effort to secure the freedom of this woman caught in what was obviously one of the great joyful moments of her life. Alice Marie Johnson rushing into the arms of loved ones, freed yesterday after 21 years in federal prison, sentenced to life on drug charges. Kardashian west lobbied the president on miss johnsons behalf and yesterday he the commuted her sentence, citing her Good Behavior and rehabilitation. N none of which would be especially controversial, except its part of a pardons and proposed pardons thats raising questions on a number of fronts, including just how is the president using one of the absolutely powers that the president shares with kings. The current Time Magazine cover story raising the specter of an imperial presidency, something well touch on later. But first, the case of alice Marie Johnson and Kim Kardashian west who spoke earlier today with van jones. You just finished an interview with Kim Kardashian west. What did she have to say . She was super happy about getting this woman her freedom. She was passionate about the cause. She made a little bit of news. She said donald trump called her directly, personally, on her cell phone. And then she then got a chance to call Alice Johnson in prison and let her know that she was going to be coming home. And she also responded to a lot of the criticisms and skepticism, no good deed goes unpunished, but she had some good stuff to say for herself. The meeting with President Trump, now, thats a whole other level. Yeah. How did that happen . Well, when i initially called ivanka, i said, i would love a meeting with your dad. I said that from the start. And then that took about six or seven months to get. And so once we got our you know, the file really strong, we were able to plan a meeting. And there was the Prison Reform summit that i know you were at. So i was going to go to that, and my meeting was scheduled the day before that. And then things were changing, schedules were changing, and so they had rescheduled the meeting and it happened to be on alices birthday, and that was the date they picked. And so i was just, this is all aligned, the stars are all in our favor today. I just feel that this is the right day to do it. And so you go in . We go in. Thats crazy. You got to know, for normal people, Kim Kardashian going into the Trump White House into the west wing. The oval office. Yeah, i have to say, i never get star struck. I was star struck over the oval office. Yeah, President Trump actually called you. Yes. So he said, this is donald trump or what happens . No, it says unknown. And so i remember, i was on the phone with my husband, and i said, wait, babe, i got to call you back. And it was secretary on the line that said she had the president on the phone and i knew it had to be some some news. Hopefully, you know, i was always really hopeful. And i had been in communication with jared, so i was feeling things were looking really positive. But that week, after meeting, youre just literally on pins and needles waiting to hear whats going on. So, yeah, he called my cell phone. And what did he say . He say that hes really investigated this case and spoke to her warden, spoke to just everyone and everyone had a unanimous from the people that he reached out to, unanimous feeling of alice, that she will live a great life. And she will that she has done her time, has been such a model person in prison, shes never had any, like, infractions on, you know, behavior or any anything which is almost impossible in prison, by the way. Yeah, so she yeah. And she she became an ordained minister, she got so many degrees, she just knowing that shes never going to get out, but she is still so amazing and is working on herself the whole time shes there, i think just he felt her heart. And he explained that to me. And i was just i mean, when he said he has the papers in front of him and hes signing it, i just like, my heart was so full. Im just going to throw it, you tell me whos right and whos wrong . Trump is using you as a political pawn, so now youre sort of youve endorsed him, in any way. Youve sort of given him legitimacy. You might be in a campaign video. He used you. I think i think kanyes already given him legitimacy, so you know, i dont in that way. So i i was working on this before, so i dont like, for being i dont think i would be used, you know . And at the end of the day, he heard me out. We got the job done. So i dont think, like, what could he really use me for . I wonder, what does this say to you about how the president is making decisions, about whom he pardons, who he doesnt . Well, you know, i think that he has taken a very unusual approach to pardons. You know, president obama pardoned more than a thousand people in similar situations, but he had a big process for it. Donald trump seems to be going a little bit more sporadically, in some ways. However, if you listen to what Kim Kardashian west said, being able to make the case that this person had changed their lives, that they had served a lot of time and they could go home and be a good, productive member of society seemed to land strongly with President Trump. It seems to be a different way of doing business. But if you are a Family Member of miss alice, youre pretty happy with his Decision Making this week. Ill be speaking with is raymond santana, a member of the central park five coming up next. How do you make sense of someone who can show mercy to someone like alice Marie Johnson, but still yet to this day has yet to apologize or admit he was wrong about the central park five . Its one of the most baffling things. And i think people are trying to figure out how to square the circle, how to make sense of stuff. Its very, very tough. What i would they. I am glad President Trump did this. I hope he does more things like this. I hope he becomes more systemic in doing it. At the same time, it doesnt take away from some of the other bad stuff. If youve got a kid and they get nine questions wrong and they get one question right, youre glad they got the question right, but they still dont get an a. Donald trump has a long way to go to get to a when it comes to these issues around justice. Van jones, thanks very much. Raymond santana in his case, he gave Kim Kardashian west a shoutout today. Just to remind you in 1990, santana and four others were convicted in the rape and murder of a jogger in central park. After years in prison, he and what became known as the central park five were finally exonerated. Someone else committed the crime, dna finally confirmed it. Today santana tweeted, i gave Kim Kardashian a lot of flack about speaking on Prison Reform, but when i found out she went to champion on Alice Johnsons behalf, i had to eat my words. Apologies to Kim Kardashian recognize your work. Salute. And in that one tweet, raymond was more generous than trump was. When the five were exonerated, he refused to accept it. And when the city agreed to a 41 million settlement with them, he wrote an opinion piece calling it a disgrace. He has to this day never apologized to raymond santana, who joins us, or any member of the central park five. Raymond, i want to ask you the same question that i just asked van jones. How do you make sense of the president who can show mercy to someone like alice Marie Johnson, but still to this day hasnt apologized to you or the other four of the central park five . You know, anderson, its when i first heard about it, you know, i really thought that it was a good thing. I thought it was a great thing, that somebody was finally pardoned, that he had taken a step to do something for Alice Johnson. But, theres a part of me that, because of this mass track record, because we know that hes deceitful, he has lied several times, he has fabricated things, its very hard to believe that it comes from a genuine place. And then we find out that Kim Kardashian, you know, went and spoke to him and consulted with him, and she swayed him to do this. So, it just proves that, at the end of the day, hes still full of lies and still full of trickery, and that it hurts, because here we are, right . In the pardon of scooter libby, right . You know and i quote, donald said that, you know, he didnt know the man personally, but he spoke to several people. And several people said that this guy was done unjustly. And thats what he went by. And in our case, we had dna evidence. We had the prosecutor, right . We had several people who championed for us. And none of that mattered to him and he didnt care. We were still guilty in his eyes. So at the end of the day, this move doesnt look like it comes from a good place. We cant trust him. You know, you cant just dangle Kim Kardashian and kanye west in our face and say, look, i have a heart, and i deserve a pass. We heard from Kim Kardashian a bit ago. The fact that theres been a celebrity component to some of these pardons, whether its with her or Sylvester Stallone and jack johnson, does that matter in your mind . Or at the end of the day, if a commutation or pardon happens, thats what matters most . I think that it does matter. In our case, you know, you had ken burns who did his research and seeked the truth and seeked justice. And he knew that we were innocent, so he stepped up and decided to do something for it. And i think that that weighs a lot. Our celebrities, this is what theyre supposed to do. They have this major influence. They have a duty to the public, those people who support them. Theyre supposed to champion for a cause like this. I just want to read a portion of the fullpage ad that then donald trump took out this the daily news, this was back in 1989, about you and the your codefendants. He wrote, quote, criminals must be told that their Civil Liberties end when an attack on our safety begins. Does that at all sound like the same man whos pardoning people who have a criminal record now . I mean, it might look like theres a change, but i dont want to give him that pass just yet. He needs to do more for our community. We have a lot of issues. If you want to pardon people, speak to the Innocence Project in new york city. Im sure they have a whole list of people that deserve pardons. You know, i mean, theres other issues that we have to deal with before we can trust donald trump. I mean, theres police brutality, mass incarceration, you know, job unemployment, education, funding for programs that he has cut in the past, like, he has to do all of these things and make it right before we can finally trust this man. The president has shown compassion by pardoning someone like alice Marie Johnson or commuting a sentence. Do you have any kind of expectation that he may also show compassion and admit he was wrong and apologize to you and the other four, or at least admit he was wrong . I mean, if he does, its a first step in the right direction. But before i believe him, he has to do a whole lot more for our community. Raymond santana, its always good to talk to you. Thank you so much, raymond. Thank you so much, anderson. Coming up, more breaking news. A fascinating story. First Lady Melania Trump firing back at her husbands lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, saying, you dont speak for me about Stormy Daniels. So what does giuliani say to that . Dana bash has just spoke to him. And later, the president s feud with canada and france. Have they forgotten the parade already . What does it say about a president thats chosen to take on some of this countrys oldest allies . A hilton getaway means you get more because. You get another day in paradise. Get a sunset on a sunday. Get more stories to share. Get more from your Summer Getaway with exclusive hilton offers. Book yours, only at hilton. Com directv now gives you more for your thing. Get all the good stuff about tv without all the bad stuff. Yes you can still stream your favorite shows. Yes with no annual contract. Wait, what . Its live tv. Yes with no satellites. What . And no bulky hardware. No bulky hardware isnt that great news . 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So you can get the best deal on the right hotel for you. Dates, deals, done tripadvisor. Visit tripadvisor. Com theres breaking news tonight. Some stunning the pushback from the office of the first Lady Melania Trump directed at her husbands personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani was brought on to be aggressive, a flame thrower. Hes certainly living up to that and under fire tonight from the first ladys team. This all started earlier today at a conference in tel aviv where giuliani was asked about how mrs. Trump feels from allegations about Stormy Daniels that she had an affair with the president back in 2006. Heres how giuliani responded. She believes in her husband. She knows its not true. I dont even think theres a slight suspicion that its true, when youre excuse me, when you look at Stormy Daniels. I know donald trump and lets respect her. Look at his three wives, right . Beautiful women, classy women. Women of great substance. Stormy daniels . Now, the first lady might have remained quiet about mr. Giuliani saying she believes in her husband and knows its not true, but instead, this afternoon, her Communications Director came out with a statement. Quote, i dont believe mrs. Trump has ever discussed her thoughts on anything with mr. Giuliani. Cnns dana bash has just talked with Rudy Giuliani to get his reaction to all of this and joins me now along with cnn chief legal analyst, jeffrey toobin. Dana, i find this story fascinating. First of all, how unusual is it before we get to what giuliani has told you, how unusual is it that the first ladys office put out a statement, basically slapping him down . So unusual. I mean, anderson, its unusual for the first ladys office in any white house to put out a statement on anything of this nature. Even if they were talking about a political foe. This is far from that. I mean, this is the first ladys office, as you said, slapping down the president , her husbands attorney, for something that he said in a public forum on a global stage about her sort of saying what she what he thinks that she feels, or what she believes. And, you know, so, shes basically saying to him, cut it out. But shes also sending a signal, in a very carefully worded statement, that maybe she doesnt believe her husband. And theres no question that she left it open to interpretation, as she does in so many different venues and so many different ways. Right, you could read the statement in multiple ways, but certainly a slapdown of giuliani. Essentially, dont put words in my mouth. Dont say what im thinking. Yeah, no question. And you mentioned that i talked to him, anderson. I did, and i said, how did you take it . And what he said is the following. He said, i took it, meaning Melania Trumps statement, as she didnt want to get involved and get called as a witness or anything like that. Then he went on to say, i think she is saying, please dont say that. I said anything, because i didnt. Thats the freedom of being a lawyer, thats my interpretation. Now, he also said to me that he had never interviewed thats the word he used interviewed Melania Trump about this, meaning he never talked to her about it. That he was sort of just saying what he thinks that she believes. He also said that, as of this is, by the way, hes still in israel. So we spoke basically in the middle of the night, his time, earlier this evening. He said that he has not heard from the president , nor anyone in the white house, including Melania Trump, with an angry call or any call at all about his statements. Does jeff, does what is going on with Rudy Giuliani . Well, i think this is really a question for a psychiatrist more than a legal analyst. I mean, hes just sort of riffing out there. Because from a legal standpoint, a wife isnt going to be called in to testify against her husband. Right. She is she has privilege with anything that he might have said to her and her opinion about whether or not this affair took place would certainly not be legally relevant, other than any communi