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Trump grants clemency to 30 people, including Jay-Z associate Emory Jones

President Donald Trump with Alice Marie Johnson in the Oval Office in 2020, when he granted her a full pardon. Johnson, now White House pardon czar, announced Thursday’s 30 clemency grants.
President Donald Trump with Alice Marie Johnson in the Oval Office in 2020, when he granted her a full pardon. Johnson, now White House pardon czar, announced Thursday’s 30 clemency grants.

The White House from Washington, DC / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain · source

Pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson said Thursday’s grants included a Roc Nation executive, a Philadelphia union boss convicted of bribery, and a former Navy sailor.

President Donald Trump granted clemency on Thursday, Sept. 3, to 30 people, White House pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson announced. Recipients included Emory Jones, a longtime Jay-Z associate and Roc Nation executive; a former Philadelphia union leader convicted of bribery; and a former Navy sailor imprisoned for firearms offenses. Trump has granted more than 1,700 pardons or commutations since January 2025. Outlets disagree on whether Jones was released in 2010 or 2016, and on whether Jay-Z’s letter to the judge was written in 2009 or 2010.

Shared facts

Emory Jones pleaded guilty in 1999 to conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

Jones was sentenced in 2000 to 188 months, nearly 16 years, with five years of supervised release.

Jones served nearly 16 years in federal prison on drug charges.

Jones’s legal team sought a sentence reduction in 2009 and submitted supporting letters, including one from Jay-Z.

Jay-Z wrote a letter to the judge urging a sentence reduction.

Jay-Z offered Jones an executive assistant job at Roc Apparel Group with a $50,000 starting salary.

Jay-Z wrote that he had known Jones for 15 years.

The sentence was reduced by 37 months, to 151 months.

Jones later worked as a Roc Nation executive, including as head of lifestyle.

Jones co-founded the Paper Planes clothing brand with Jay-Z in 2014.

Trump granted Johnson a full pardon in 2020.

Trump named Johnson the White House pardon czar.

Trump has granted more than 1,700 pardons or commutations since January 2025.

President Trump granted clemency to 30 people.

The grants were issued Thursday, Sept. 3.

The recipients included Emory Jones, a longtime Jay-Z associate.

The recipients included a former Philadelphia union leader.

The recipients included a former Navy sailor imprisoned for firearms offenses.

White House pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson announced the grants.

Johnson posted about the grants on Instagram.

Johnson described Jones as an entrepreneur and creative leader whose journey showed how much people can grow.

Human rights attorney Jessica Jackson praised the pardon and said she was among those who advocated for Jones.

Jay-Z referenced Jones on the Kingdom Come track “Do U Wanna Ride,” including a recording of Jones calling from prison.

In a 2023 podcast interview, Jones said he told supporters they owed him nothing.

Disputed facts

Sources disagree on whether Jay-Z’s letter to the judge was written in 2009 or 2010.

Sources disagree on whether Jones was released in 2010 or 2016.

Fox News

Trump pardons Jay-Z associate Emory Jones after federal drug conviction

Emily Trainham

5 Sep 2026

Facts

Johnson was sentenced to life in prison on a nonviolent drug charge in 1996.

Johnson said the 30 cases were carefully reviewed and brought forward.

Johnson credited the White House Counsel team led by Will Scharf.

Jones wrote that he chose not to use any excuse for his conviction.

Opinion

Johnson called the grants a powerful day for second chances.

Jones wrote that excuses are tools of the incompetent.

Jones wrote that when people sacrifice to support you through incarceration, you owe them.

Jones wrote that he owed supporters the chance to see him do something positive with his life.

Jones wrote that the debt was not monetary because love and support have no price.

TheGrio

Trump grants clemency to 30 people, including Jay-Z associate Emory Jones

Odafe Oghen

5 Sep 2026

Facts

Many of those clemencies were tied to people convicted in connection with the January 6 Capitol attack.

In December 2025, Rep. Ayanna Pressley released an analysis arguing Trump’s clemency decisions had disproportionately benefited white and wealthy recipients.

Trump commuted Johnson’s life sentence in 2018 after she had served more than two decades for a nonviolent drug offense.

Opinion

TheGrio said Trump’s clemency record continues to face questions about who has benefited.

TheGrio said Trump’s clemency record has been a recurring source of debate over sentencing disparities and mass incarceration.

Pressley called on the administration to use clemency to help communities disproportionately affected by the criminal legal system.

Complex

Jay-Z's Associate Emory Jones Pardoned By Donald Trump

Trey Alston

4 Sep 2026

Facts

No unique facts.

Opinion

Jackson said Jones's pardon is a powerful example of what second chances should look like.

Rolling Out

Trump pardons Jay-Z's longtime friend Emory Jones

Gesi Lloyd

5 Sep 2026

Facts

Jones submitted his own letter, writing that he took full responsibility rather than making excuses.

The friendship between Jones and Jay-Z has been part of the public record for years beyond the court letters.

Neither Jones nor Roc Nation had issued a detailed public statement on the pardon.

Opinion

Jones's post-prison career was a central part of the clemency case, held up as evidence of rebuilding.

Jackson pointed to support from community and business leaders as evidence of Jones's transformation.

U.S. News & World Report

Trump Grants Clemency to 30 People, White House Pardon Czar Says

Steve Gorman

4 Sep 2026

Facts

No unique facts.

Opinion

No opinion marked.