White House

Dean Cain says President Trump's offer to listen to protesting NFL players on who they'd like to see pardoned is a great opportunity ... and one not to be missed.

The 'Superman' star made an interesting point Sunday at LAX -- telling us that players who are kneeling against an unjust criminal justice system on the field should get up, and walk into the White House ... considering DT's apparently leaving the door wide open for talks.

As we reported ... the Prez said he'd be willing to take pardon recommendations from NFL players -- even the kneeling ones -- suggesting that would address the issues they're protesting.

Terry Bradshaw is sticking up for the Philadelphia Eagles ... telling TMZ Sports he supports their decision to not go to the White House -- saying, "1st Amendment rights, I totally believe in it."

The "FOX NFL Sunday" star didn't mince his words when we asked about the issue -- telling us, "I agree with the Eagles. Totally. 100 percent."

When asked about Donald Trump specifically, Bradshaw said ... "Trump just needs to ... he just needs to go somewhere and enjoy the money he's got."

Bradshaw continued ... "You know what's so bad about that whole event? Was how they were portrayed as protesting, kneeling, during the national anthem when they were praying. That is just wrong."

Muhammad Ali's ex-wife says Donald Trump is wasting his time if he's considering pardoning the legendary boxer ... telling TMZ Sports he should focus his energy on the LIVING!

We spoke with Khalilah Ali -- who was married to Muhammad from '67 to '76 -- and she was shocked when she watched Trump tell the media he was considering pardoning Ali ... presumably for his conviction for resisting the draft in 1971.

That conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court ... so, as Khalilah pointed out, "There's no necessary need for a pardon."

"I think [Trump] probably was a fan of Ali and he thought he would say something positive about him. That might be it ... but it's a little too late."

Khalilah says if Trump really respects what Ali stood for ... he would "pardon" the NFL players who knelt during the national anthem -- and by that, she means Trump should stop trashing them for standing up for what they believe in.

Andre Rush -- the White House chef who looks more like a bodybuilder -- says he never expected his military career to lead him to D.C., but it all worked out ... and speaking of workouts ...

The retired Army Master Sergeant Chef was on "TMZ Live" Friday after going viral this week when a reporter posted a shot of him preparing a Ramadan meal for the Prez and 30-40 guests. Ya can't help but stare at his massive guns.

Turns out ... Chef Rush has experience with real guns, too. He says he was an Army Ranger, but took up cooking to cope with the stresses of military life. Now, he's cooking for presidents and other world leaders.

Donald Trump is making an offer to NFL players -- telling them he wants their recommendations for people who deserve a presidential pardon ... and promises to take their requests seriously.

Trump was speaking with reporters in front of the White House when he talked about his new plan to help determine who should be pardoned.

"What I'm thinking to do, you have a lot of people in the NFL in particular ... they're not proud enough to stand for our national anthem ..."

"I'm gonna ask all of those people to recommend to me ... people that they think were unfairly treated by the justice system and I'm gonna ask them to recommend to me, people that were unfairly treated, friends of theirs or people that they know about and im gonna take a look at those applications."

Alice Marie Johnson was so inspired by Kim Kardashian West's efforts to spring her from a life prison sentence that she wants to help Kim do the same for others.

We spoke with the 63-year-old great grandmother, and she told us Kim was truly the difference maker in President Trump's decision to commute her sentence.

Not only did Alice offer love and praise for KKW -- even calling her an official member of the Johnson family -- Alice says she's down to help Kim in her fight for prison reform and to free anyone given unfair sentences.

As we reported ... Kim's been on a mission for Alice for months, working and communicating with Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump even before the White House meeting. As we first reported, Alice even sent a heartfelt thank-you note to Kim last year ... long before her freedom was a done deal.

Kim Kardashian West will come face-to-face with the woman she helped to free from prison ... TMZ has learned.

Alice Marie Johnson had her life sentence commuted on Wednesday by President Trump after spending 22 years behind bars. Kim championed Alice's release with the help of her attorney, Shawn Holley ... communicating for months with Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

Sources close to the situation tell us Kim and her team are working to arrange a meeting with Alice that could happen as early as this week.

Our sources say Kim will most likely travel to Alice -- not vice versa -- as the great-grandmother adjusts to life outside of prison. Moments after she got out, Alice told reporters she was thankful and felt as if her life was starting over again.

As we reported, Kim visited the White House last week for a meeting with 45 about Alice's situation and prison reform in general.

D.L. Hughley isn't giving President Trump an ounce of credit for letting Alice Johnson out of prison, 'cause he says it amounts to nothing more than sleight of hand.

We got the comedian leaving Mastro's in Bev Hills Wednesday night, and he says Trump commuting Johnson's sentence is essentially a Three-card Monte game ... all trick, no real results.

D.L. thinks Alice and her champion, Kim Kardashian, were simply a good photo op -- while Trump's still making other moves that fly in the face of real prison reform.

He might have a point about the big picture, but for her part ... Alice has expressed nothing but gratitude to Kim and Prez Trump since her release yesterday.

Alice Marie Johnson wasted NO time catching up with her loved ones, moments after she was released from prison ... courtesy of President Trump and Kim Kardashian West.

Alice was driven a short distance away from Alabama's Aliceville Correctional Facility, and bolted into the arms of loved ones waiting for her on the roadside.

As we reported ... the 63-year-old great-grandmother's case became national news after Kim tweeted about it. She was sentenced to life in prison for first time offenses of money laundering and drug conspiracy.

Kim Kardashian did good fighting for Alice Johnson's clemency, but at least one U.S. congressman thinks President Trump played celeb favorites and that has no place in the prison reform discussion.

We got Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee Wednesday on Capitol Hill, and he says there's a downside to Kim successfully lobbying Trump ... in the big picture. Cohen's afraid it will set a bad precedent for other harshly or wrongly convicted prisoners.

In other words, what happens if you're rotting in prison ... and don't have a celebrity who can get the President's ear fighting for your freedom?

Stormy Daniels just sued her former attorney ... claiming he was in cahoots with President Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, to get her to falsely deny she had an affair with Trump.

Stormy -- real name Stephanie Clifford -- filed docs Wednesday claiming Keith Davidson colluded with Cohen and hatched a plan to get her on Sean Hannity's show back in January.

The suit attached a series of texts Stormy says back her claims. In docs, obtained by TMZ, Cohen texted Davidson, "I have her tentatively scheduled for Hannity tonight." But, a few hours later ... Cohen texted Davidson, "The wise men all believe the story is dying and don't think it's smart for her to do any interviews." Davidson, according to docs, replied, "100%" ... with Cohen replying, "Thanks pal."

Stormy claims "wise men" is in reference to Trump, essentially alleging he knew Davidson and Cohen were communicating all along. Stormy also claims Davidson broke attorney-client privilege when he tipped off Cohen that she was about to get a new lawyer, Michael Avenatti, and announce in court she had an affair with Trump but signed an agreement to keep quiet about it in exchange for $130,000.

The suit alleges, "Mr. Davidson abdicated his role as an advocate and fiduciary of his client Ms. Clifford and instead elected to be a puppet for Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump in order to advance their interests at the expense of Ms. Clifford."

Malcolm Jenkins wants people like Donald Trump to know what the national anthem demonstrations were really about ... so he spelled it out in the Eagles' locker room today -- using signs.

He didn't speak a word to reporters -- instead, Jenkins flipped through a series of handwritted signs he made ... clearly trying to get his point across to critics like POTUS.

Here are a few examples ...

"You aren't listening"

"More than 60% of people in prison are people of color"

"Nearly 200,000 juveniles enter the adult criminal system each year, most for non-violent crimes"

"Chris Long gave his entire year's salary to educational initiatives"

"Colin Kaepernick gave $1 million to charity"

"Devin McCourty, Duron Harmon, Matt Slater and Johnson Bademosi lobbied to raise the age from 7 to 12 entering the criminal justice system"

Pamela Anderson says she might pull a Kim Kardashian and ask President Trump to pardon WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

We got Pam Wednesday in NYC as reports surfaced that the Prez was prepping to grant clemency to several prisoners. So, with Pam being a huge advocate for her friend Assange, we asked if she'd go to Trump to clear Assange's name in the U.S. -- even though he hasn't been charged with a crime here, yet.

Pam says it would be "the smartest move" -- not sure if she meant her visiting Trump, or Trump pardoning Assange.

Of course, this comes on the heels of Kim Kardashian successfully lobbying POTUS to release Alice Marie Johnson ... so, makes sense Pam could be feeling empowered.

After all, Pam's been going to bat for Assange, saying he's a misunderstood soul ... not a criminal hacker. We suspect the President would be more likely to show mercy on a grandmother who got a life sentence for a first time, nonviolent offense.

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson says he was "looking forward" to visiting the White House to celebrate the Super Bowl victory ... and seemed kinda bummed it didn't happen.

"I was looking forward to it," Pederson said at a Wednesday news conference ... "You win a world championship ... you wanna be recognized that way."

When asked if other teams should boycott the White House after the drama that surrounded his team, Pederson said he can't speak for other teams, but reiterated ... "I was looking forward to it."

Kim Kardashian has a chance to use her influence for the good of the nation, just like Robert F. Kennedy did ... that is, if she heeds the advice of one of RFK's daughters.

We got Kerry Kennedy, Bobby's 7th child, on Capitol Hill Tuesday -- the eve of the 50th anniversary of her dad's assassination -- and asked what she thinks of the Kardashian sisters wading into politics.

It's a great question for Kerry, in particular, because she let out a hearty laugh when we raised this topic in 2013. Kerry was highly amused by our comparison of the Kardashians and the Kennedys back then.

However, on the heels of Kim's White House visit lobbying Prez Trump to commute Alice Johnson's prison sentence ... Kerry's no longer laughing. In fact, she offered the K fam guidance on how best to conduct themselves in the political arena.

You'll recall, Kourtney was also in D.C. recently working toward environmentally-friendly cosmetics.

Donald Trump just wrapped up his "Who Needs the Philadelphia Eagles to Have a Good Time?" party at the White House ... and proved he actually knows the words to the national anthem!!

As for "God Bless America" ... not so much.

Remember, Trump had initially invited the NFL champs to his D.C. pad to honor the Eagles for winning the Super Bowl. But many key players declined the invite, and then Trump pulled the plug altogether when he learned barely anyone was gonna show up.

Instead, Trump hosted replacement party featuring the U.S. Marine Band and the U.S. Army Chorus performing the anthem.

We should note -- when Trump took the podium, several boos are heard ... but it's unclear who was the intended target.

Trump gave a speech about the importance of standing for "The Star-Spangled Banner." He successfully sang along to the anthem, but definitely needed help with the lyrics when the broke out, "God Bless America."