Transcripts For FOXNEWSW Scandalous Chappaquiddick 20190520

All the things that have happened over these past months. It seems like ive been free much longer. Ainsley lets talk a little bit about your book, congratulations on your new book. It is my journey from incarceration to freedom, and its called after life are, because your faith means so much to you. The most important thing in your life, right . The most important thing. My faith sustained me for over two decades. Ainsley you got a life sentence, but knew god has Something Better for you. I knew that god was going to get me out. So many things he promised me he was constantly doing things it might seem like small things, but id pray forking for somethd it would materialize. If i can take care of the small things, trust me with the big thing. Ainsley tell me what your life was like growing up in this house where your parents were christians, your parents were still together, and it seemed like a very loving family. We never knew we were poor. Maybe because we had so much love. My life, it was not optional that we went to church, but i loved church. My family are singers, musicians, prayers. And we, during hard times, wed sing. Wed always sing. And that singing is one of the things that i did in prison too. Id always sing. I would take a shower, and im singing, and im praising god. And people would sometimes stand outside the shower just to hear me sing. But i learned so many lessons during the time that i was growing up from my parents, from their faith. Because they always prayed about everything. And i saw the miraculous happen in my own family growing up through prayer. And so the same god of my parents is my god. I was never hungry. Our house was never devoid of love. I had a good childhood. Ainsley you get pregnant at 15 years old, and your mom suspected it, and she came to you and said what . She asked me if i was mr. President. If i was pregnant. I told her, yes. It was a very hurtful thing for my parents, because they really trusted me. They decided that it was a good thing for me to be married. Apparently, they asked him, and he said yes, but no one asked me if i wanted to be married. So i found out that i was getting married three days after my mother discovered i was pregnant. Ainsley how did you feel about that . I tried to run away. I told my older sister, and she told my mother, and she said she sent my brother back home to make sure i didnt get away. Ainsley how many children . We had five. We were married for 19 years. Ainsley and then he had an a affair. He had many affairs [laughter] during the time of our marriage. I think that probably after the first year my husband continued to live. He was young too. He was older than me, but he was still young. He still lived like he was a single man. Ainsley what happened to him . We finally divorced after many years of marriage, and he has now remarried, and hes a christian now. So im happy for him. Ainsley he became a christian, thats great. So to raise these children, and he wasnt giving you any money, no Child Support no, nothing. Ainsley you had to get a job. And that led you to fedex. After we broke up for the last time, my first job was at the urban league. And then i got a job with fed education. I was a manager in commuter ops and then computer ops, and then i started training people. Ainsley and then there was a turning point. You meant a man you call ted in the book. And what happened . This. I was introduced to gambling. And it seemed so exciting for me, ainsley, but it came with a big price. I started getting behind on my bills, because im gambling now. Before i did pretty, id been pretty levelheaded in just making sure i took care of everything, but my gambling losses started to mount up. Ainsley and how did that lead to drugs and what happened next . I lost my job. I had i would travel, and id have, get expense. I spent the expense money for a trip that i was not going on and couldnt pay it back. So i ended up losing my job. Because ainsley i was mad at ted because ted said, let me take the money, youll make it back, and youll have more money to pay your job back. And he lost the money. I didnt get it. I had 30 days to get it back. He kept promising me that he would have the money back. And when it didnt come back, up until the day of the confrontation when i knew it was over, i still was looking to him to give me that money back. Ainsley how much was it . It was not even 5,000. I lost a very good job, and my family would have helped me. But sometimes, ainsley, were so prideful, i didnt want my family to think that i was a failure or to know what i had done. Ainsley right. So once again i hid that. I didnt let them know, and that was another bad mistake. Ainsley and before you started getting involved in the drugs and illegal activity, your son, something happened to your son, your youngest child. Yes. Ainsley his name was corey, and you called him coco. Yes. During all of this terrible trauma, the things that were going on, my son corey was killed in a scooter accident. His brother was driving, and they were hit by another teenager. And we dont know who was at fault. There was a stop sign, there was overhanging trees, and later on they put a stop sign there after my son was killed. But it was terrible. That was a terrible time for me. Ainsley you had to make a decision to take him off of life support, and this was your child that was so affectionate. You say he doted on you, and you doted on him. I really did, sometimes id feel guilty. And later on i realized im glad that i doted on him, because i have those precious memories of coco. He was, i think he was a lot like me. Our family loved coco. He was always trying to help people. Ainsley i imagine as a parent that has to be the hardest thing, of everything youve been through, is that the hardest . It is. It was and it is the hardest thing. To bury your child. I always thought that my children would bury me, that id never have to be faced with that. And so you know how you have a barometer of pain . Nothing compares to that pain. Finish. Ainsley how in the world do you get through that . One day at a time. Like getting through prison, one day, one moment at a time. Ainsley do you think about him every day . Most days i do. It was months that i cried every day. Id have my own time of grief every single day. And i couldnt look at his picture. I took all the pictures down. That was very difficult for me. Ainsley i know your faith is so strong, and when people have friends that are going through hard things and they dont understand why god allows hard things, bad things to happen to good people. I think for me, trying to deal with it and come to grips, i kept having these dreams about my son. One of the very strong dreams was i kept seeing the clock, and i thought that if i could just beat the clock and get past that time, that somehow i could stop it from happening. The next morning in the dream i woke up, and it was that same time again. And i kept reliving it and reliving it. And finally, in my dream my son said to me, coco said to me, mama, please let me go. I know you love me, but please let me go. You cant stop this. Ainsley dont make me cry. Ainsley you were accused of participating in drug conspiracy. And you said you werent a dealer, but a telephone mule. Explain what that is and how you got involved in it. That means that the people who are selling, the people who are dealing, whatever their roles are, they never contact each other. I dont need to know who it is, and i dont really want to know who it is. You could almost say almost like an operator. They call me, and then id make the call and say call this number. And so id get paid for that. Ainsley got it. How much did you get paid . Well, the first time i got 1,000, and i was so happy, because i was able to pay bills, and my house was about to be foreclosed on. I filed for bankruptcy, so that put food on the table. It kept the lights on. And so that was the first money that i got, and i was very excited about it. Ainsley and then after that, how much did you make . It would vary are. And it wasnt a continuous thing. I know that even at trial they tried to pretend it was a continuous thing, but it wasnt. Im the one with all the phone records, so so it was easy to point the finger and say youve to got the phone records, but anyone whos in that business, whos in a drug business knows that the people who are at the top dont connect their phone numbers. Ainsley on purpose. They dont want the get caught. On purpose they e dont do it because they get the buffer. Youve got this person over here, and thats why at trial they couldnt identify me. They just knew me from calling this number. And so even one of the men who was caught had a card with my phone number on it. He didnt know me, he just had a card with my number on it. Ainsley and did you make thousands of dollars or hundreds of thousands oh, i wish i not that i had wish i made hundreds of thousands of dollars. Absolutely not. Even when i came to prison after i was arrested, they looked at my psr, which is your presentence report, and it shows that im still behind on bills, im still trying to take care of bills. I dont own my car. I wasnt living a big, lavish lifestyle. So i didnt fit. I remember my attorney during his closing arguments, he did say one good thing. Said he said wheres the beef, that had become popular, where is the money on my client, where is the drugs . Where are the drugs . It was just not adding up. But it dont matter if it adds up. Iowans what was it like that day when you knew, im in trouble . Did you get a knock on the door . They not only arrested me, they arrested my daughter too. It was horrible. I was so embarrassed for my children to see this, for my children to hear this. For my daughter to be going down to a county jail with me, for her to have to go through what she did, and it was all my fall. I was so hurt for my family too the, because my family had no idea that this was going on in my life. And even with some of the ones who testified against me who talked about coming to my house, my family knows that that couldnt have been true, and my neighbors knew that it wasnt true. My neighbors were questioned about any traffic, any different people, and ainsley they didnt see any of that. They didnt see any of that. And my family, my house was always open. As you know, i come from a very big family. I was always cooking for my family, theyd drop in un announced, so my family could testify to this. They never saw anything strange at my house. Ainsley there were 16 people indicted and 10 testified against you. Did they do that on purpose . The ones who testified, theyve got a lot to gain. They could not do time. They could get reduced sentences or no sentence at all. So thats a big motivation. Ainsley why were you the one that they really pinned all of this on . Because i went to trial. Everyone else took a plea. They had gotten caught with drugs, or they knew that they were facing very long sentences. And really, ainsley, what would you give in exchange for your life . Ainsley and did you have the option to plea . Yes, i did. Ainsley and your attorney gave you advicesome. Yes. I sat down with them, and they said you could do 35 years and be out if youll cooperate. We left the room, my attorney said, dont do it. He says they have no money, they have no drugs, all they have is telephone records. And since those are unrecorded calls, they cant prove that you did anything. So lets go to trial. Ainsley clearly are, bad advice very, very bad ad vice. Ainsley did he tell you what the consequences were going to be, life behind bars . No, i never knew that, ainsley. When i found that out was right before my sentencing. Thats when i found out that life was possible for my crimement crime. Also available in hybrid allwheeldrive. Lease the 2019 ux 200 for 329 a month for 36 months. Experience amazing at your lexus dealer. My dream car. It turns out, they want me to start next month. She can stay with you to finish her senior year. Things will be tight but, we can make this work. Now. Grandpa, what about your dream car . This is my dream now. Principal we can help you plan for that. danny after a long day of hard work. You have to do more work . vo automatically sort your expenses and save over 40 hours a month. danny every day youre nearly fried to a crisp, professionally vo you earned it, were here to make sure you get it. Quickbooks. Backing you. S. S. U. S. U. V. These letters used to mean something. 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Alice became an ordained minister, mentored prisoners, wrote, directed and produced numerous plays and earned a number of study certificates. When they sent me my psr report and my attorney gave me that, when i saw that, i just held the paper for a long time. I couldnt stop looking at it, because i thought mine has got to be different. And i kept looking at it, and at the bottom it said that those charges came with life. Ainsley judge gibbons, you said, made you sound like you were el chapo. Oh, yes. [laughter] ainsley and you realized that the laws were nonnegotiable. Youre a firsttime, nonviolent offender, and you could go away for life. So is that day in court she said life plus 25 years and no the parole. Uhhuh. Theres no parole in the federal system. She suggested, she said that she was going to recommend that i go to carswell in fort worth, texas, because they have a mental facility because she felt a woman like myself might need some mental help having to deal with a life sentence. Ainsley and how did you feel about that. I hate to tell you what my thoughts were, but ill tell you any theway. I thought to myself, youll lose your mind before i lose mine. Ainsley you were determined. You went in with hope. I did. Ainsley in that courtroom that day, your family was there, and you write about the gasp, and then there was just silence. Yes. Ainsley and they knew their mom, their sister, their little girl was going away for the rest of her life are. And you thought about your dad, and you thought that you had disappointed him. I could hear sobbing, and it was the my father. Sobbing in the courtroom. Everyone was crying. Because i wouldnt tell them that i was safe in life. Ainsley i would think, as a mother, not seeing your children grow up, whos going to raise them, how do i know theyre going to turn out okay. I could not imagine what my children were going to do without me. And everything was, my head was just spinning. What is going because still, e still held out some hope that at my sentencing maybe the judge would have mercy upon me. Ainsley so what was it like behind bars . When it became the most real to me, is when i was in that transport vehicle headed to get on a plane to fly over 1500 miles away from my e family. Every mile that i was taken was taking me farther and farther and farther away from my family. And i knew that theres no way my children could come out and see me. Once arrived in california, started going to law library, i got to make myself knowledgeable. I went into the system very ignorant. But i was not going to remain ignorant. Ainsley in prison you were leading Bible Studies and putting on christmas plays. Yes. When i arrived in the prison, one of the things that i saw was i saw hopelessness in the faces of women. Well, i wasnt hopeless. And i think that drew people to me too, to know that i had a life sentence, but im not hopeless. As i started writing plays and getting women involved in acting, in dancing, i was in the choir, and it wasnt fake for me. I was, i was not happy to be in prison, i was happy to be alive, i was happy to see what i could do for other people, that i could e help them change their lives too. Ainsley did so many lives get changed . Do you feel like god used you in prison . I was touched by that. Youre putting on the christmas plays and telling people about christ and reading your bible continuously. And then you were reading about the law, and you learn about clemency. And there are 200,000 people that have signed a petition at this point asking for you, for barack obama, president obama, to give you clemency, right . The first time that i applied for clemency, i was denied in 2011. I applied again, i was denied in 2013. And then the Clemency Initiative came, the clemency project 2014. There was a list of criteria. I knew that not only did i meet that criteria, but i exceeded that criteria. So hope is around everywhere like electricity. My family, my sisters go to white house, they do a candlelight vigil with my big petition with all of these suggests, and theyre praying signatures, and theyre praying. Im selected to be one of the six prisoners in an ad campaign for smart justice. From the aclus smart justice campaign. So my face was already getting media attention. And at the end, i had 270,000 people who signed the petition for my freedom, and i just knew that i was going to be granted clemency. But on january the 6th, 2017, i was denied again. Ainsley President Trumps in office. Yes. Ainsley jeff sessions, he has a strong stance on criminal Justice Reform. Right . President trump is elected, did you think were you hopeful, or did you think there goes my chance . I know this might sound crazy, but i still felt that the i still had a chance. We didnt know what President Trump was going to do. We know that he ran a campaign tough on crime, but ive always been a believer that in fact, i was standing on that scripture out of proverbs 21 1, that the heart of the king is in the hands of the lord. So i started praying that his heart would be turned toward me even before kim came on the scene. That was my scripture. And, of course, i was closely watching everything, and i also filed another motion in the courts to get, to get a sentence reduction. So i never stopped fighting. Ainsley i think that people thought in america, like, if you do something wrong, youre supposed there are consequences. You get locked up. You dont think about, okay, first time, nonviolent mother, grandmother, great grandmother, maybe we should give her another chance. Lets look at her record, whats she doing behind bars. I think your storys changing the prison system. I hope so. Ainsley how did your story go viral . While i was in prison, i was allowed to do something incredible. There was a youtube and google event, and this was a person at one of the google events that actually, youtube event, it was a criminal Justice Reform summit. And mr. Horowitz was sitting in the audience, and he heard my story and reached out to ask me to do a video oped. I struggled financially. I couldnt find a job fast enough. And i did that video oped, and the first day that it was dropped, it went viral. The second day, kim saw it. Someone she says who she follows tweeted it out to her. She had not been on her phone for days, and when she turned her phone on, she said my face popped up. And i started telling my story. My name is alice marie johnson. Im a 62yearold mother, grandmother and great grandmother. And she tweeted out, this is so unfair. And she contacted her attorney, sean holly, and asked sean holly to find me. And she did, and she asked me, told me that a very wealthy and famous woman wanted to hire her to help me become a free woman. And she asked me, would you like for that to happen . So the rest is history. And kim fought like a wild woman for me. Whats going on up here . Cant see what it is yet. What is that . Thats a blazer . Thats a chevy blazer . Aww, this is dope. This thing is beautiful. I love the lights. Oh man, its got a mean face on it. It looks like a piece of candy. Look at the interior. This is nice. This is my sexy mom car. I would feel like a cool dad. Its just really chic. I love this thing. Its gorgeous. I would pull up in this in a heartbeat. I want one of these. That is sharp. The allnew chevy blazer. Speaks for itself. I dont know who they got to design this but give them a cookie and a star. Safe drivers shouldnt have to pay as much for insurance. 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Live from americas news headquarters, the fight over a womans reproductive rights sparking new protests across the nation, and now the president is weighing in. Mr. Trump tweeting that hes strongly prolife but thinks alabamas neartotal ban on abortion goes too far. Many fellow republicans agree with him, saying the bill should have allowed for exceptions such as rape or incest. The nations most restrict thive abortion measure was signed into law on thursday, making virtually all abortion procedures in alabama a felony. Arnold schwarzenegger blindsided by an a attack in south africa, watch this. The 71yearold former california governor was taking pictures and chatting with fans when a man drop kicked him in the back. The suspect was later turned over to police. Schwarzenegger is okay and says he has no plans to press charges. Now back to the Alice Johnson is story. Ainsley a strong belief in god helped alice persevere and encouraged her to campaign for freedom. Her video plea went viral on social media and caught the attention of Kim Kardashian west. Kardashian then turned to senior president ial adviser Jared Kushner for guidance. Together with the president , they would pave the way for her release. How did you find out, its Kim Kardashian . Well, i dont know kim, but id seen kris jenner before on a show, and i just knew it was kris jenner, i was so happy, i was singing. Oh, kris jenner is going to help me. And my daughter asked me, she said, what if its Kim Kardashian . I said, kim who . [laughter] ainsley you didnt know who she was . I didnt know. I said, who is Kim Kardashian . And my daughter went on to explain to me who kim was. I started getting magazines, and im looking at her pictures, and im reading about her, and, i mean, this was all in this day, another day, two days passed, and sean told me it was Kim Kardashian. Ainsley did you ever talk to im kim on the phone . What were those conversations like . Im glad i didnt know she was a celebrity, because not knowing who she was and not having been a follower of kim, we talked as friends. And she gave me so much confidence that this was going to happen. Ainsley then the day comes when she says i am going to oval a office yes. Ainsley that was a very special day for you, for many reasons. Yes. My birthday. My birthday in prison. And when she says that theyre going on that day, i said, did you know she said, this is it then. She felt that that was the sign. Ainsley i remember she said this is not about politics, this is about people. Its about people. And to put me before herself and thats what she did, because this could have backfired on her. But kim was determined that whatever it takes for me to come home to my family, thats what shes going to do. Ainsley so then you get a call from Kim Kardashian uhhuh. Ainsley in prison. And that was on june 6, 2018, right . I was all over the news that morning, and they were saying that there was a possibility that the president was going to sign my clemency. I had read an article the day before that it would be sometime next week if he considered it. So people are telling me things, and i just shut everybody out. Its a wednesday. Its hamburger day. [laughter] i decide, im just going to do something normal, im going to go to lunch and shut everything out. So i get this call over the intercom telling me to report back to my building, that i had a legal call. So im expecting just my legal team to give me another update. But instead kim is on the phone. And she tells me, we did it. And im like, what . Did what . She said, we i said, what do you mean . She said, we did it, youre outta there. I started screaming and jumping and just praising god in that little room. Im just going crazy in there, and kim is trying to shes asking them, she didnt know, they tell her youre the first one whos telling her. She thought that i knew. And im so glad that it was kim who told me. Ainsley what do you say to create sicks that say, look critics that say, look, these are the laws, shes supposed to be behind bars for the rest of her life. What do you say to those folks . I would tell them that mercy, that judgment or Justice Without mercy is not justice at all. That what is the worst thing that youve ever done in your life. Do you want to pay for the rest of your life with that . No matter what i did, that there was never an opportunity for redemption, for me to get a Second Chance. And ive gotten a Second Chance. And i dont take it lightly. Ainsley ask you dont deny that you did something wrong, and you should have had some time. Absolutely. I should have had some time in prison. Im not saying that i was not guilty of committing a crime. Im saying that the time did not fit the crime. The first thing that people say is if you do the crime, you should do the time. But my answer to that is that time should be fair and just based on the crime and not just rubber stamped. Ainsley what do you say to kids that are watching or a mom that cant pay her bills thats about to get into something pretty bad and possibly illegal . Oh, i would say, please, dont do it. When you think that there is no hope, there is always hope. If you can just take the time to think about what youre doing and dont let pressures, life pressures, peer pressures cause you to do something that you know is wrong to do. That very thing could cost you your life, it could cost you your liberty, it could cost you your family. Dont do it. Ainsley and whats your message to president . I hope that youre proud of the things that ive been able to accomplish, and i hope that to you will continue to be proud of the things that i will do for this nation, for other people to change the trajectory of how we look at prisoners, how we look at people. Thank you for seeing me as another human human being and gg me a Second Chance in life. Ainsley okay. So the president granted you clemency but not a pardon. Whats the difference . A pardon means that i get to start over totally. I dont have to report in to probation. I have to report in constantly to probation. I have to get permission to travel. And im traveling a hot. Eaps eans are you asking the president , if hes watching this interview, are you asking him to, please, pardon you . I would like a full pardon, but i dont want to make it just be about this. Id rather focus on other people. If i could choose between myself getting a full pardon and someone getting clemency, id say give them clemency. Ainsley is your biggest regret getting involved with this guy ted who got you into this mess . Thats one, but my biggest regret is making the decision to have anything to do with criminal activities. Thats my biggest regret. 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Ainsley it was in the east room of the white house where alice finally hugged the president. I told him i finally get a chance to hug you and properly say thank you for believing in me. Ainsley the goal of the initiative is to transform federal prisons into safe and effective facilities that will reduce recidivism and strengthen our communities and the economy. The administration believes in giving those like alice, who have paid their debt to society, a second time. Jared, thank you so much for sitting down with us, i know this is an important issue to you. We met Alice Johnson s and shes such an incredible person. What made you want to sit down and do this interview . The story of al his is a story that alice touched the president , its touched me, and i think its touched a lot of people throughout the country. A lot of people got to see a real window into how the criminal Justice System its a great system, but its far from perfect, and there are people who get caught up in it and who have the ability to change and who can live a second life and do great things. But theyre held and held for their past mistakes in a a way thats not necessarily fair. Ainsley yeah. How did you hear about her story . Walk us through the process. I originally got a call from Kim Kardashian. Wed met before in the past at different events, and she said she had a case she was interested in. So she sent me the video and some information, and i said, okay, let me look at it. It seemed deserving of consideration, but theres always somebody who will add slow advocate for it, and you go deeper, and theres more nuance thats not covered in the it. But this case seemed to be one that was very deserving. So i brought in some of the white house lawyers, we spoke to department of justice, we got the more information on the case, and at that point i thought it was a case that was worthy to bring to president. So i brought it to president , and i shared with him the pros and the cons. I explained to him the crime and what had, what had happened at the time, but then i also shared her extraordinary track record in prison. He was very touched by the fact that she had a letter from the ward recommending that she warden recommending that she be considered for clemency and also the fact that she was such a good mentor to so many of the inmates. Ainsley we hear a lot about criminal Justice Reform, the First Step Act. What specifically is that . Sure. So what the First Step Act does is it makes our prison system more purposeful. It takes our federal system, and it takes inmates who are nonviolent offenders, people who have a lower risk of committing a crime in the future, and we give them a Risk Assessment program. So we take the every inmate based on the data available, and we say what is their risk of committing a crime in the future. Then what we do is look at what are the things we can do for them while theyre here to lower that risk in the future. And its very basic things, its job training, family reunification, drug treatment, making sure that they dont have addiction problems, Mental Health treatment where appropriate. And then figuring out skills and how mentorships so that when they leave, they can figure out how to lead better lives. And we incentivize them to take these programs by giving them the ability to earn their way to a quicker release to supervised custody. Ainsley what do you say to critics that are against this . So ive met so many people now who are the biggest champions of the reform who started out as critics of the reform. I would just tell people to keep an rope mind, look at the data an open mind and to meet people like Alice Johnson and to spend time understanding the issue. Of. Ainsley i know its the hard when you go through a hard time, you dont understand why gods allowing this to happen in your life. Many people experienced that. Im sure you did when your dad was incarcerated. I know you said it was unfair, the his treatment. Do you look back at that situation and say im glad we went through that as a family, because it allowed me to have compassion for other people . I look at where i am today, able to serve the president , im in the white house. This is the last place i ever thought id be. You go from visiting a Family Member in prison to working in the white house in a a decade, and thats a pretty dramatic shift in life. I do believe that its because of gods grace and the fact that theres a bigger plan. And, look, that experience that i had in my life at the time seemed like something that i didnt understand why it was happening, but i didnt put my energy towards being angry. I didnt put my energy towards being bitter. I used it towards growth. It helped me become stronger and helped me put my energy towards productive things. And i think thats been the attitude iveed had ever since. Ainsley jared, what was it like to sit next to alice at the state of the Union Address and see the video of her coming across the street into the arms of her family . Were just very proud of her, and i do hope it serves as a lesson to other people who are in prison that you should have hope, and people coming out of prison, you carry the burden of being an example to other people. Alice has definitely been one of the leaders of that movement, and shes opened a lot of peoples hearts and minds to this issue. So for alice, were very proud of you and just keep doing great things and live your life. S. S. U. S. U. V. These letters used to mean something. Letters earned in backwoods, high hills, and steep dunes. But somewhere along the way, suvs became pretenders, not pioneers. But you never forgot the difference, and neither did we. There are many suvs, but theres only one legend. Hurry in now to the jeep celebration event and get 500 additional bonus cash on select models. Excuse me. Uh. Do you mind. Being a motour . What could be better than being a motour . The real question is. Do you mind not being a motour . I do. For those who were born to ride, theres progressive. Every curve, every innovation, every feeling. A product of mastery. Lease the 2019 es 350 for 379 a month for 36 months. Experience amazing at your lexus dealer. Ainsley as hard as its been for alice, the one thing that has remained constant is the love and support of her family. Her first steps out of jail were into the arms of her loved ones. Long overdue hugs, kisses and a long ride to a homecooked meal. Today she works to free inmates who are also remorseful and have paid their debt to society. What was it like when you found out she was getting to come home, she was going to be out of prison . Oh, man. I was on the phone with my older sister, and she was like i just got a pic from al sharpton camp saying congratulations on your moms release . And i was like, huh . What . And were flipping through the channels, and on every channel, fox, cnn, abc, im like, oh, my god. I was doing this horse trot new the house [laughter] and im on the phone with her, i said, you know what . Im going to call the lawyer to check first. Lets check this, that might not be true. And i called jennifer, Jennifer Turner with aclu. As soon as she picked up the phone, shes screaming. Its like, oh, my god, this is true. Ainsley how old were you when your mom went to prison . 24. Ainsley 24. What was that experience like for you . It was extremely, extremely egressing and just you couldnt believe it. My mouth dropped in court. I was in court every day, and im thinking, these people cannot believe these people. This dont even sound real to me, and im in this house. This part, what theyre saying, all this stuff couldnt have happened. And im, like, they cant be guilty. Ainsley your hands are tied, theres nothing you can do. Its the law. How did that feel . Its just, its no way to even really describe that feeling, because your heart just literally sinks into your stomach. Thats not i wouldnt wish it on anybody, but especially my mother. Im, like, ill take her place before ill allow her to go. And that was the worst. Ainsley i know when your mom was released in june, there was one car the lawyer said, you can go get your mother. I called everybody, we can go, we can go. We meeting up, and my aunts left from here, and i ended up meeting them on the highway, because im rolling. [laughter] and my brother was behind me, were flying down the highway. Im like, oh, my god, oh, my god. Im getting all these phone calls from media, and im like, i cant think straight right now, i just want to get my mom. I had to get in the van with my brother they only allowed one car to go in to pick her up. Ainsley the whole family was lined up, basically, outside. Yes. We were lined up. We got there, and we pulled up, and all you could see was my mom coming out of the building. And im trying to pull my phone out. I forgot to hit record, nothing was recorded, but luckily [laughter] my sisterinlaw recorded it. Its like, oh, my god, shes walking out those doors. Ainsley you grew up singing. We would love for yall to sing for us. Let it be known that this has been a faith walk, and we have come this far by grace. We come this far by faith. Lean on the lord. 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Last week i had the tremendous honor of sitting down with the president at the white house. We had a great conversation about a wide range of policy issues, about politics in the next election, and some fascinating personal insights into life at the white house and his response to the criticisms of how he does the job. Its a side of the president you dont often see. We didnt want to cut it down or chop it up. Tonight we are devoting the whole hour to my conversation