Snoop Dogg Is Trying to Get President Trump to Pardon Death Row Records Cofounder – Report
Snoop Dogg's had some harsh words for President Trump in the past, but that apparently doesn't mean he's against working with him to get his people free.
According to a Monday (Jan. 18) report from The Daily Beast, Snoop is working with two activists to get purported Death Row Records cofounder 59-year-old Michael "Harry O" Harris pardoned and released from California's Federal Corrections Institute, Lompoc after he was convicted of attempted murder and cocaine trafficking charges three decades earlier. Last year, Harris requested a compassionate release after being infected with the coronavirus, but he was denied.
Harris is reportedly the person who offered the seed money to found Suge Knight and Dr. Dre's Death Row Records in the early 1990s. Snoop was signed to the label in the 1990s.
The Trump administration has already pardoned someone Snoop knows. Weldon Angelos, a former music producer who's produced for the likes of Snoop and more, was pardoned by Trump last month. He was originally sentenced to 55 years in prison for selling $350 worth of weed to an undercover officer back in 2004. Angelos says Snoop is someone who helped get Harris' case attention from Trump. From there, Angelos contacted criminal justice reform advocate Alice Johnson, who had her prison sentence commuted by Trump back in 2018.
“Snoop brought this case to me, and I brought Alice Johnson on board to help it with me, and she brought it to the West Wing,” Angelos says. “In the past, the president has given her the ability to select cases. And she doesn’t get [clemency for] all of them… But with Mr. Harris, she is not taking no for an answer.”
Johnson tells the outlet that she's spoken to President Trump, his advisor and daughter, Ivanka Trump and Senior Adviser Jared Kushner about pardoning Harris. During a conference call with Snoop, Angelos and Johnson, Johnson reportedly asked Snoop if Harris had a history of being violent behind bars. Snoop responded by saying no and that Harris had been a "pillar of the community." Johnson says Snoop also told her to tell Trump that he appreciated the work he'd done in getting people released from prison even if Harris ultimately wasn't released.
In the past, Snoop has never minced words when it comes to criticizing the president. In June of 2020, he posted a video of himself dropping the F-bomb aimed at Trump on social media. Back in September of 2018, Snoop insulted Kanye West for supporting the president.
This report arrived just a day ahead of Trump's last full day in office, which is today. President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be sworn into their new roles tomorrow.
XXL has reached out to reps for Snoop and the White House for comment.
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