In late October, just days before the presidential election, and almost a year after federal authorities seized a gun from his private plane, rapper Lil Wayne spent nearly an hour with Donald J. Trump at the President’s Doral Golf Club in Miami .
The two men discussed Lil Wayne’s upbringing in New Orleans and his growing interest in criminal justice reform, according to Bradford Cohen, a South Florida lawyer who was present and scheduled the meeting.
“I think they had a very strong connection,” said Cohen, who competed on Trump’s TV show “The Apprentice” in 2004.
The meeting culminated in a smiling thumb-up photo that the rapper posted on Twitter – an endorsement that came while Trump’s reelection campaign was working to improve his position among black voters, although he often defamed blacks and often it sought to divide the country on racial lines. The support of a largely apolitical artist was met with reaction from some fans.
Less than a month later, Lil Wayne was charged with possession of a firearm, and he soon pleaded guilty. In a sentence originally scheduled for later this month, he faces up to 10 years in prison.
That sentence will never come. Earlier on Wednesday, Lil Wayne found himself among the 143 pardons and commutations announced by former President Trump during his final hours in office. He joined three other figures from the hip-hop universe, including Florida rapper Kodak Black, another Cohen client; Desiree Perez, chief executive of Roc Nation, Jay-Z; and Michael Harris, known as Harry-O, founder of Death Row Records who has been in prison for 30 years.
Clemency decisions culminated in a complex, symbiotic and often controversial relationship between Trump and rap dating back to the 1990s, when the businessman was a frequent club goer and a lyrical motif representing wealth and brilliance.
“He’s in the entertainment world,” Cohen said of the former president in an interview on Wednesday. “He has a similar style in terms of how he behaves, and a lot of rappers and people in the industry identify with that.”
Cohen said Lil Wayne’s imminent gun charge, which has been under investigation for almost a year, was not the reason for his pre-election summit or support for Trump. But he acknowledged that it may have been a factor in the decision to forgive, as thousands lobbied for last-minute clemency.
“It never hurts to know that someone completely understands an individual when they are just looking at a piece of paper,” he said. “In retrospect, I think it worked.”
Lil Wayne, 38, born as Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., is widely considered to be one of the most influential and successful hip-hop artists of his generation. But in addition to a song criticizing George W. Bush for his way of dealing with Hurricane Katrina, he normally avoided politics, distancing himself from partisanship and the Black Lives Matter movement. Asked about Mr. Trump before the 2016 election, Lil Wayne laughed and replied, “Who is this?”
The gun charge resulted from a search of his private plane when he landed in the Miami area on December 23, 2019, when authorities found a .45 caliber Glock pistol plated with gold and ammunition, along with a drug stash (for the which no one was charged) and almost $ 26,000 in cash. Lil Wayne was unable to carry a firearm legally, having previously pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in New York in 2009; he had served eight months on Rikers Island.
Howard Srebnick, a lawyer who represented Lil Wayne in the criminal case last year, said in a statement on Wednesday: “The pardon for Mr. Carter is consistent with the opinion of many lawyers – including Supreme Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett – which prosecutes a non-violent citizen for merely possessing a firearm violates the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. “
He added: “The gold-plated gun, which Mr. Carter never operated, is a collector’s piece, given to him as a Father’s Day gift.”
Lil Wayne’s forgiveness was supported in letters by Deion Sanders, the NFL Hall of Famer, and Brett Berish, the chief executive of a sparkling wine brand, according to the White House, who also highlighted charitable donations of the rapper.
Cohen said he started the pardoning process shortly after Lil Wayne was charged in November, and that the rapper was “moved” by the president’s decision. Through representatives, Lil Wayne declined to comment.
Cohen – whose connection to Trump’s orbit also included representing former President Corey Lewandowski’s campaign manager – led Kodak Black’s defense as well. Black, whose legal name is Bill Kapri (born Dieuson Octave), received a commutation, which will forgive the rest of his 46-month sentence for lying in the background paperwork while trying to buy weapons. He served nearly half that time and could be released from a federal prison outside Chicago on Wednesday, Cohen said.
While many paid thousands of dollars to lobby for clemency, Cohen said he instead relied on a month-long social media and letter writing campaign, recruiting notable figures like Lamar Jackson from the Baltimore Ravens and the former New York Police Department commissioner Bernie Kerik to attest to Black’s character and philanthropy.
“Our route was less conventional. We had supporters like Gucci Mane and Lil Yachty and Vanilla Ice, ”said Cohen. “We did everything we could to get to see him.”
Power of Mercy ›
Presidential Pardon, Explained
President Trump discussed possible pardons that could test the limits of his constitutional power to nullify criminal liability. Here is a little clarity about your ability to forgive.
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- Can a president grant prospective pardons before any charges or convictions? Yes. In Ex parte Garland, an 1866 case involving a former Confederate senator who had been pardoned by President Andrew Johnson, the Supreme Court said that the pardoning power “extends to all crimes known to the law and can be exercised at any time after his commission, either before legal proceedings are initiated or pending, or after conviction and trial. ”It is unusual for a president to issue a prospective pardon before any charges are made, but there are examples, perhaps the most famous of President Gerald R. Ford’s pardon in 1974 from Richard M. Nixon for preventing him from being sued after the Watergate scandal.
- Can a president forgive his relatives and close allies? Yes. The Constitution does not prohibit pardons that raise the appearance of self-interest or conflict of interest, even though they may provoke political reaction and public shame. In 2000, shortly before leaving office, President Bill Clinton issued a series of controversial pardons, including to his stepbrother, Roger Clinton, for a 1985 cocaine conviction for which he had served about a year in prison. , and Susan H. McDougal, a former Clinton business partner who was arrested as part of the Whitewater investigation.
- Can a president issue a general pardon? This is not clear. Typically, pardons are written in a way that specifically describes the crimes or sets of activities to which they apply. There are few precedents establishing the degree to which a pardon can be used to end criminal liability for anything and everything instead.
- Can a president forgive himself? This is not clear. There is no definitive answer because no president has ever tried to forgive himself and then faced prosecution anyway. As a result, there was never a case that gave the Supreme Court a chance to resolve the issue. In the absence of any precedent for control, legal thinkers are divided on the issue.
- Find more answers here.
Kodak Black has continued on charges of criminal sexual conduct in South Carolina since 2016, although a trial has been postponed several times. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
Bold names may also have helped with other switchings in the hip-hop world. Snoop Dogg reportedly lobbied on behalf of Harris, or Harry-O, one of the first financiers for his old label, Death Row Records, who helped bring gangster rap into the mainstream. Harris, 59, had his sentence for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder commuted by the president after serving three decades of 25-year life punishment.
Snoop Dogg worked alongside reform advocate Alice Johnson, who was forgiven by Trump last year after a campaign by Kim Kardashian West and others. “They did a great job while they were there and did a great job leaving,” said Snoop Dogg, who was once a vocal critic of Trump, about the government on hearing the news, according to The New York Post.
Jay-Z’s longtime associate, Desiree Perez, 52, woke up this morning at 5 am with a phone full of text messages stating that her forgiveness had been granted. Now chief executive of Roc Nation, the management and label company with a social justice component, she was convicted in 1994 of conspiracy with the intention of distributing drugs. Perez said he had asked for forgiveness just two days earlier, after seeing news about Trump’s plans for his last hours in office.
“I feel good, but a little numb,” Perez said in a telephone interview. “I did not forgive myself and I am not sure if I will ever forgive.”
Ms. Perez works closely with the NFL in her partnership with Jay-Z, and the White House has called her “an advocate for criminal justice reform in her community”.
“There is so much judgment that accompanies a conviction without time and reflection from others about, ‘How did anyone get there?’ My story has a reason, ”said Perez. “Everyone’s story has a reason. I’m just a girl from the Bronx, and thinking about all the things I had to overcome and how I persevered to get to where I am, well, now you’re making me cry. “
But questioned about her personal feelings about Trump, Ms. Perez strayed. “I prefer not to answer that question today,” she said. “It is not the best etiquette.”
Katie Rosman contributed reporting.