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ustin Bieber is the most powerful man in America.That’s according to music mogul Russell Simmons, who says a tweet by the Canadian pop star sparked a phone call “within two hours” by the US attorney general and compelled President Obama to act on prison-sentencing reform.n 2013, Simmons was behind a celebrity-driven campaign to overhaul the “War on Drugs” enforcement model that condemned small-time, nonviolent drug offenders to long prison sentences.A letter was drafted — signed by hundreds of faith and civic leaders, plus A-listers like Cameron Diaz and Scarlett Johansson — asking Obama to review drug cases for clemency and to pass a law allowing judges to toss aside mandatory drug sentences if deemed unfair.“Brad Pitt signed it, the NAACP . . . the Urban League, Rev. Sharpton, Rev. Jackson,” Simmons recalled.And while the White House agreed philosophically, it was moving slowly on the issue and didn’t want the letter made public, Simmons told The Post.Obama senior adviser “Valerie Jarrett was calling saying, ‘Don’t release the letter. We’re not ready to move on this legislation,’ ” Simmons recalled. “We had [then-US Attorney General] Eric Holder, the White House calling us, calling my office, saying that they’d do something — but to hold off on the letter, hold off, period.“That changed when Justin Bieber got involved,” Simmons said.On April 9, 2013, the pop idol “tweeted out about the letter that we wrote,” including a shout-out to Simmons. Bieber urged his 69.2 million followers to “show that we the youth have a voice. hashtag and support the cause.”The White House — thinking Simmons had recruited Bieber to the cause — finally got the message.“Holder called us within two hours and said, ‘Don’t worry, we’re getting it done right now,’ ” Simmons told The Post.Bieber, who would be arrested for driving while high on pot and pills in 2014, was now making national policy. Within two weeks, the Justice Safety Valve bill was introduced in Congress and passed a few months later. (A similar measure by Republican Sen. Rand Paul had been under consideration in the Senate.)Obama has since granted clemency to 89 federal prisoners, and this month approximately 6,000 more are set to be released early — the largest one-time release of federal prisoners in US history.It’s expected that more than 46,000 of the country’s approximately 100,000 drug offenders in federal prison will be given early releases. The White House declined to comment.Simmons says celebrities hold great sway over the administration.“Every single time there’s an issue that involves minority causes or something that supposed to help minorities, the White House, the politicians call. Every time,” Simmons said.“Celebrity is a powerful thing, and you don’t get to be Kim Kardashian forever. She shut down Congress when she joined that ‘Muslim for a Day’ movement and said she was Muslim. They were holding those Muslim inquiries and everything stopped.”Young celebrities are especially influential, he said.“The idea of a Harry Belafonte supporting something is meaningful to the activist community, but a Justin Bieber is who makes it pop.”
