Angelina Jolie meets with lawmakers amid push for reforms for victims of crime

Angelina Jolie is becoming a frequent sight on Capitol Hill — the actor just wrapped up another visit to Washington to push for a new provision in legislation aimed at aiding protections for crime victims.

The “Eternals” star was in the nation’s capital on Tuesday and Wednesday to meet with lawmakers about the reauthorization of the Patrick Leahy and Orrin G. Hatch Justice for All Act, S. 5033.

Jolie, along with her eldest daughter, Zahara Jolie-Pitt, were eyed in the offices of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). Proponents of the bipartisan legislation, first passed in 2004, say it ensures people who have been wrongfully convicted of crimes have access to legal representation and DNA testing and strengthens victims’ rights.  

The Academy Award winner is pushing for a provision within the legislation that would give crime victims access to criminal reports and evidence.

“Currently, there’s no method within the federal government that provides crime victims with a right of access to their own records of crimes they experienced and reported,” Jolie said in a statement to ITK.

“This is an issue across the country. Survivors need their records of reporting crimes they or their children experienced to advocate for health and trauma care and for safety protections in family court systems and domestic violence civil protection orders,” Jolie said, calling access to such records a “right for all families.”

Leahy and Schumer’s offices didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the meetings.

ITK hears that Jolie also met with members of the White House Gender Policy Council as well as other lawmakers about legislative priorities in an omnibus package to fund the government for fiscal 2023.

Jolie, 47, has become a regular of sorts at the Capitol. In February, she appeared at a news conference alongside a bipartisan group of senators as they announced that a deal had been struck to renew the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

Jolie, a special envoy to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, had made multiple trips to Washington to urge for reauthorization of the VAWA. She attended the signing of the bill by President Biden at the White House in March.