Kim Kardashian back at White House to talk criminal justice

WASHINGTON (AP) - Reality star and activist Kim Kardashian West took a star turn at the White House on Thursday to promote efforts to help those leaving prison get jobs and stay on track.

"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," Kardashian West told an East Room crowd. She announced a ride-sharing program to help former prisoners get transportation to job interviews, work and other events.

President Donald Trump pronounced himself a fan of Kardashian West's advocacy, declaring, "I guess she's pretty popular."

Kardashian West, who has been advocating for criminal justice reform issues, tweeted a video of herself en route to the event Thursday afternoon.

"I am heading to the White House to speak at the second chance hiring and reentry event," she said, adding in another tweet that she was "honored to be a part of the announcement that the administration and the private sector are stepping up to create opportunities for these men and women to succeed once home."

Kardashian West has been to the White House several times to discuss criminal justice reform issues and successfully lobbied Trump to pardon Alice Marie Johnson, who was serving life without parole for drug offenses.

White House officials have been working to make sure that prisoners released early because of the passage of the First Step Act have the tools and jobs they need to successfully adjust to life outside prison.

More than 1,000 federal inmates have had their sentences reduced because of the legislation, according to a recent report by the U.S. Sentencing Commission.