Execute a command and read the output as JSON

def ext_pillar(minion_id,  # pylint: disable=W0613
               pillar,  # pylint: disable=W0613
               command):
    '''
    Execute a command and read the output as JSON
    '''
    try:
        command = command.replace('%s', minion_id)
        return salt.utils.json.loads(__salt__['cmd.run'](command))
    except Exception:
        log.critical('JSON data from %s failed to parse', command)
        return {}