Kim Kardashian visits the White House to push criminal justice reform
Kim Kardashian West visited the White House on Wednesday as she seeks to curry the White House's favor for more potential pardons. The reality television star has worked with the president and Mr. Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner to free non-violent offenders, like Alice Johnson, and push for criminal justice reform.
CBS News spotted Kardashian arriving at the White House around 11 a.m. Wednesday. The reality television personality had said on Instagram she would be visiting the White House with Alice Johnson and others to bring "light to these women and discuss more change that our justice system desperately needs!"
In addition to Johnson, Kardashian was joined by Tynice Nichole Hall, Crystal Munoz and Judith Negron, all three of whom had their sentences commuted by Mr. Trump in February. Hall and Munoz had both been serving sentences stemming from drug charges, while Negron was convicted for "orchestrating a $205 million Medicare fraud scheme," according to the Justice Department. Johnson, whose sentence was commuted by Mr. Trump in 2018, personally advocated for Munoz's release.
Ivanka Trump posted an image with those attending the meeting with Kardashian.
Meet Judith Negron, Crystal Munoz and Tynice Nichole Hall.
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) March 4, 2020
At the recommendation of @AliceMarieFree, @KimKardashian and the @cut_50 team, these 3 mothers were granted clemency by @realDonaldTrump last month and are already using their second chance to pay it forward! pic.twitter.com/4ysQku3Mag
Kardashian has been arguably the most influential person outside the administration in pushing criminal justice reform at the White House. She's also worked behind the scenes to lobby for some violent offenders, including Cyntoia Brown-Long, who was granted clemency last year after serving 15 years of a life sentence for killing a man she says sex trafficked her.
At a White House event last year, Kardashian thanked the president for his "compassion" in pushing the issue.
Kanye West, her husband, has also appeared at the White House to push for prison reforms, most notably when he delivered a lengthy soliloquy in the Oval Office in 2018 that left even the president speechless.
Mr. Trump has taken notice of high-profile people pushing for criminal justice reform, even as he's been criticized for pardoning or granting clemency for high-profile, wealthy individuals like former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and former NFL executive Edward DeBartolo Jr.
The Trump administration has alluded that it wants to introduce more legislation to build on the First Step Act passed in 2018.
— Melissa Quinn contributed reporting