Source: YouTube / Mic
Kim Kardashian West will be meeting with Donald Trump today (Wednesday) to discuss prison reform as well as to advocate a pardon for Alice Marie Johnson, the 62-year-old great-grandmother serving a life sentence without parole for a nonviolent drug offense.
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Yes, you read that correctly.
Kardashian West and Jared Kushner, Trump's senior advisor (and son-in-law), have been in talks for months planning a meeting with Trump, according to Vanity Fair. The report goes on to say that Kardashian West will be going to the White House without the accompaniment of a TV crew or her sisters, and will "make a legal argument to President Trump for why he should pardon Alice Johnson."
The Keeping Up with the Kardashians reality star learned of Johnson's story on Twitter and reached out to Ivanka Trump who then connected her with Kushner. Johnson has been in prison for 21 years.
Kardashian West's activism in prison reform is recent. She's not only voiced support for Johnson but for Cyntoia Brown, the sex trafficking victim who was imprisoned at the age of 16 for killing a child predator who paid her for sex. She was one of the first celebrities to speak on Brown's case and even enlisted her own attorney, Shawn Holley, to assist in Brown's case.
"Kim asked me several weeks ago how she could help Alice Johnson in her fight for justice. We then began corresponding with Alice and her team of lawyers," Holley previously said. "Since then, Kim has championed the cause of Cyntoia Brown and asked me to help her get involved in that effort as well."
Since the announcement of the meeting, Kardashian West has been criticized on Twitter both for wanting to speak with Trump as well as her lack of expertise in regards to prison reform.
She recently spoke about her stance on prison reform with Mic, saying:
"I'm just focused on criminal-justice reform and helping one person at a time. And so far, the White House has been really receptive to my calls, and I'm grateful for that," she said. "And I'm not going to stop that because people personally don't like Trump."
It's hard not to be skeptical of the meeting between the two not only because of the pair's lack of knowledge on prison reform, but because of Kanye West's recent endorsement of Trump. Sure, at best, Trump will actually take what Kardashian West tells him into consideration and pardon Johnson. And at worst he won't do anything at all. No matter what, he'll have a press opportunity with Kardashian West, which he then can use to his advantage, similar to how he did with West's endorsement of him.
Following her sit-down with Trump, Kardashian West will then attend a dinner at Kushner and Ivanka's home.
Source: Vanity Fair
