President Donald Trump announced that he was considering a pardon for boxing champion Muhammad Ali, continuing his string of high-profile pardons.
“Frankly, we’re doing right now recommendations on Muhammad Ali,” Trump said to reporters as he left the White House on Friday morning.
The famous boxer refused to be drafted into the service for the Vietnam War citing his Islamic faith and publicly opposed the war. He was was convicted in 1967 of draft evasion.
“He wasn’t very popular then, certainly his memory is popular now,” Trump said.
Ali’s attorney responded in a statement that a pardon from Trump was unnecessary, citing the Supreme Court overturning the conviction in 1971.
“We appreciate President Trump’s sentiment, but a pardon is unnecessary,” Ali’s Attorney Ron Tweel said.
Trump denied that he was considering a pardon for OJ Simpson, after a reporter asked him if he was.
“The pardons are a very positive thing for a president,” he said.
Trump said that he and his team had a list of 3,000 names of people who he was considering for a pardon.
“Many of these names have been treated unfairly,” Trump said. “I would get more thrill out of pardoning people that nobody knew.”
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