Kim Kardashian teamed up with Vice President Kamala Harris for a meeting at the White House on Thursday. The purpose of the meeting was to have a discussion about criminal justice reform and President Joe Biden’s approach to pardons and clemency.
Reality TV star and businesswoman, Kim Kardashian, leveraged her influential platform to bring attention to individuals she believed were wrongly convicted. In a recent roundtable event, Kardashian joined Vice President Kamala Harris, four individuals who were granted pardons by the Biden administration, and Steve Benjamin, Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.
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During the same week that Biden pardoned 11 individuals convicted of non-violent drug charges and commuted the sentences of five others, Kardashian made a visit to D.C. This visit coincided with the President’s efforts to provide these individuals with the opportunity to build a better future for themselves outside of prison.
“I am incredibly grateful to be here today to listen to your stories. It is of utmost importance to share and highlight them as they can provide inspiration to countless individuals in similar situations,” stated Kardashian, addressing the event’s attendees, which included Beverly Holcy, Jason Hernandez, Bobby Darrell Lowery, and Jesse Mosley, who were recently pardoned. “My purpose is to assist and raise awareness.”
In her speech, Harris announced the approval of a Small Business Administration rule that she originally introduced in January. This rule eliminates the majority of limitations on loan eligibility that are based on an individual’s criminal record.
“We are gathered here today to discuss the immense power held by individuals, especially when they receive support from their community and society as a whole. This power has the ability to create extraordinary outcomes that benefit a wide range of people,” expressed Harris. “By lessening the constraints placed upon individuals, we can provide them with second chances and open up opportunities for them to truly thrive.”
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According to the United States Department of Justice, the annual event in April aims to demonstrate how the government and service providers can “build meaningful second chances for people returning from incarceration.”
“During Second Chance Month, we recommit to building a criminal justice system that lives up to those ideals, so that people returning to their communities from jail or prison have a fair shot at the American Dream,” Biden stated in a White House proclamation.
Last month, Harris hosted a separate roundtable on marijuana legalization with pardon recipients, rapper Fat Joe, and other lawmakers.
Karine Jean Pierre, the White House Press Secretary, stated that the roundtable aimed to highlight Biden’s commitment to “second chance” initiatives. During his administration, Biden commuted 122 people’s sentences and pardoned 20 others for nonviolent drug charges.
“Many of you have heard me say it. “I just don’t think people should go to jail for smoking marijuana,” Harris remarked.
Thursday’s roundtable talk was not Kardashian’s first visit to the White House. In 2020, she met with former President Donald Trump to thank him for commuting the sentences of three women and to discuss the changes she believes the United States’ judicial system “desperately needs.”
“It was actually in this very room that I was in years ago—my first clemency meeting—that really inspired me to take a journey,” Kardashian went on to say. “I didn’t know a whole lot, and I was inspired to go to law school and really further my education to see what I can do to help.”
“The Kardashians” star has also become involved in the trials of several convicted celebrities. She campaigned for the early release of rapper Corey Miller in 2020, arguing that his murder conviction was unfair. In 2019, after a Swedish court found rapper A$AP Rocky guilty of assault, she brought him to Trump’s attention.
Kardashian announced that she had passed the “baby bar” exam and launched a documentary, “The Justice Project,” about her work in criminal justice reform.
