Kardashian lobbies for ex-inmates

Kim Kardashian West has returned to the White House to help Donald Trump promote efforts to help those leaving prison get jobs.

Kim Kardashian speaks as US President Donald Trump holds an event on second chance hiring and criminal justice reform in the White House, yesterday. Picture: AFP

Reality TV star turned criminal justice reform ­advocate Kim Kardashian West has returned to the White House to help US President Donald Trump promot­e efforts to help those leaving prison get jobs and stay on track.

At an East Room event yesterday attended by cabinet secretaries, activists and formerly incar­cer­ated people, Kardashian West announced the creation of a new ride-sharing partnership that will give former prisoners gift cards to help them get to and from job interviews, work and family events.

“Everyone wants the community to be safe, and the more opportunity we have and that they have and the support that we help give them, the safer everyone will be,” said Kardashian West. She became involved with the issue after learning about the case of Alice Marie Johnson, a grandmother who was serving a life sentence without parole for drug offences.

Kardashian West successfully lobbied Mr Trump to grant Johnson clemency and has been studying law under lawyers Jessica Jackson and Erin Haney of the bipartisan­ criminal justice reform group #cut50 ever since.

‘I guess she’s pretty popular’: Donald Trump praises Kim Kardashian West at the White House yesterday. Picture: AP

Mr Trump pronounced himself a fan of Kardashian West’s advocac­y, praising her genes and declaring: “I guess she’s pretty popular.”

And he marvelled at the passage of the First Step Act, which he signed into law late last year. The bill — a rare bipartisan victory in hyperpartisan Washington — included measures to reduce the sentences of thousands of prisoners and expand job training programs.

More than 1000 federal inmates have had their sentences reduced thanks to the legislation.

Mr Trump has embraced the efforts pushed by his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner to make changes to the criminal justice system, using them to highlight the low unemployment rate and paint himself as a president focused­ “on lifting up all Americans.” It’s a deeply personal issue for Mr Kushner, whose father spent time in federal prison.

AP