Kim Kardashian West visited the White House on Wednesday along with three women who had their sentences commuted by President Donald Trump last month, allowing them early release from federal prison.
Kardashian West wrote on Twitter that she hadn’t heard much about their stories on the news, so she decided to spread the word herself.
Some outlets, including Daily Wire, saw it as a veiled criticism of how the media ignores Trump stories.
“President Trump commuted the sentences of three really deserving women,” she wrote. “I didn’t hear much about it in the news so I wanted to share with you their stores!”
President Trump commuted the sentences of three really deserving women. I didn’t hear much about it in the news so I wanted to share with you their stores! I have the pleasure of spending the day with these women today along with @AliceMarieFree who helped to pick these women
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) March 4, 2020
The three women — Tynice Nichole Hall, Crystal Munoz and Judith Negron — were nonviolent federal offenders serving long sentences.
Crystal Munoz was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to posses & distribute marijuana. She left behind a five month old baby & was pregnant. Crystal was shackled by prison guards during the birth of her second daughter. Her case was highlighted in the First Step Act. pic.twitter.com/8iVyEeoMTT
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) March 4, 2020
Kardashian West mentioned the First Step Act, a bipartisan bill signed by Trump, in mentioning the three women granted clemency.
Judith Negron was sentenced to 35 years in prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud. After trial she received the longest sentence ever given to a female for a white collar crime. A mother, she left behind two young sons. This was Judith’s first ever offense. pic.twitter.com/4dQHJikOjp
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) March 4, 2020
The First Step Act was championed by leaders on the right, which even made CNN pundit Van Jones admit that “the conservative movement in this country, unfortunately from my point of view, is now the leader on this issue of reform.”
And these three women are only a few of many who have been given a second opportunity by the Trump administration.
All had their cases championed by Alice Johnson, a Tennessee grandmother convicted on felony drug and money laundering charges in 1996. Johnson was released from prison in June 2018 after Kardashian West asked Trump to grant her clemency.
Johnson said the president had asked her for a list of other women who deserved clemency. Johnson, Hall and Munoz had all had commutation requests denied by then-President Barack Obama.
Obama repeatedly called on Congress to pass a broader criminal justice fix, but had little success.
Trump was able to get more Republicans in the Senate to vote for a criminal justice bill that gave judges more discretion when sentencing some drug offenders and boosted prisoner rehabilitation efforts. Trump has been citing the bill in his efforts to win support from more African American voters.
Ivanka Trump tweeted a photo of herself and husband Jared Kushner with the women during Wednesday’s visit, saying “these 3 mothers were granted clemency by @realDonaldTrump last month and are already using their second chance to pay it forward!”
Meet Judith Negron, Crystal Munoz and Tynice Nichole Hall.
At the recommendation of @AliceMarieFree, @KimKardashian and the @cut_50 team, these 3 mothers were granted clemency by @realDonaldTrump last month and are already using their second chance to pay it forward! pic.twitter.com/4ysQku3Mag
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) March 4, 2020
The Associated Press contributed to this article