Texas mother wants to give Trump a huge hug after receiving clemency from the president
Crystal Munoz served 12 years in prison on marijuana charges.
Crystal Munoz, who was granted clemency by President Trump Tuesday, told Fox News' “Outnumbered Overtime” Thursday that she would “really love” to give Trump “a huge hug.”
“I am in shock, to say the least," Munoz told host Harris Faulker. "I am speechless. I’m humbled. I feel very blessed. I know that I am blessed.”
The Texas mother of two was convicted in 2007 of conspiring to distribute more than 2,200 pounds of marijuana and later sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison. Her sentence was one of four commuted by the president earlier this week.
In court filings, Munoz claimed that her only role was drawing a map others allegedly used in transporting marijuana from Mexico to Texas and said her lawyer failed to properly defend her at trial.
Munoz found an advocate in Alice Johnson, the Tennessee grandmother featured in a Super Bowl commercial spotlighting President Trump’s record on criminal justice issues.
Trump commuted Johnson's sentence in June 2018 after her case caught the attention of high-profile figures, including Kim Kardashian West and Trump son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner.
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Faulkner pointed out Thursday that Munoz had a 5-month-old daughter when she started her prison sentence and gave birth to another daughter while she was behind bars. The girls are now 13 and 12 years old.
“My opinion is that it should be considered a heinous crime to shackle pregnant women and to remove a baby from their mother," Munoz said. “If the mother is not an immediate threat to society, it’s heinous. It is a very awful experience."
When Faulkner asked Munoz if she would advocate for criminal justice reform, she answered, “yes.”
Trump also commuted the 14-year prison sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat who was convicted on corruption charges, including attempting to sell Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat after he was elected president in 2008.
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Trump also pardoned financier Michael Milken, who pleaded guilty for violating U.S. securities laws; New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, who was sentenced on tax fraud charges in 2010; and former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr., who was convicted of failing to report a bribe to the former governor of Louisiana in 1998.
Fox News’ Tyler McCarthy, Charles Creitz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.