Kim Kardashian West Visits President Trump to Discuss Prison Reform
Kim Kardashian West paid a visit to President Donald Trump and other White House officials Wednesday to talk about prison reform and appeal for an old woman's parole.
The "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star is reportedly requesting the president to pardon 63-year-old Alice Marie Johnson, a woman who is serving a life sentence for non-violent drug offenses. She already spent over two decades behind bars. However, she is not eligible for parole.
CBS News White House correspondent Jacqueline Alemany spoke with a member of Johnson's legal team, who said that Kardashian's meeting with the president was very positive. However, Trump did not immediately make a decision after the meeting if he will push through with the pardon.
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Johnson's lawyer Brittany Barnett also told CBS News that they are still unsure if the president will grant the pardon, but they are very thankful that Kardashian-West is using her popularity to help their client.
"It's unconscionable that she is serving a death sentence. We are grateful that Kim is using her platform to raise awareness and hope that everyone looks beyond Kim and sees that there is a woman about to die in prison," Barnett also said.
According to Barnett, Kardashian West learned about Johnson's case when she saw a Mic interview about it. The lawyer said that the model-entrepreneur was moved to tears because of the interview, and she wanted to do something about it.
In early May, People reported that Kardashian had been talking with Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner about Johnson's possible pardon.
Kushner is also known for pushing prison reform. He supported the First Step Act that was recently approved by the House Judiciary Committee to enhance the programs for prisoners and to have more provision for home confinement.
Kardashian tweeted about her interaction with the president, where she thanked him for spending some time to meet her. "It is our hope that the President will grant clemency to Ms. Alice Marie Johnson who is serving a life sentence for a first-time, non-violent drug offense," she wrote on her tweet.
She also said that she is very optimistic about Johnson's fate and wishes that she and other people who have the same case as the convicted grandmother will have a second chance in life.
The reality star was a vocal supporter of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election, but her husband Kanye West has been a very strong ally of Trump. The rapper even made news when he was spotted wearing a "Make America Great Again" cap to show his support for the president and released a song where he defended his views about Trump.
The president also posted his own tweet about his meeting with Kardashian West by posting a photo of the two of them taken at the Oval Office. He added the caption, "Great meeting with @KimKardashian today, talked about prison reform and sentencing."
The president is expected to drop his decision about Kardashian West's appeal for Johnson's possible pardon in the coming days.
