Todd and Julie Chrisley can put their fraud and tax evasion convictions behind them. On Tuesday (May 27), President Donald Trump came through amid reports that he planned to pardon the reality TV stars. Roomies, y’all might recall that the couple flexed their tight-knit family and extravagant lifestyle on ‘Chrisley Knows Best.’ However, prosecutors later accused them of using bank fraud and hiding their coins from the authorities to live a lil’ extra! After the update in her parents’ cases, their daughter Savannah Chrisley also strongly praised Trump.
Trump Pulls Through On Pardon Promise For Todd & Julie Chrisley
In a call with Savannah Chrisley, the daughter of Todd and Julie Chrisley, President Trump promised that her parents would be “free and clean.” By Tuesday afternoon, East Coast time, the convicted couple was no longer so! Donnie issued them full pardons after calling their punishment after conviction a “terrible thing,” per PEOPLE.
Savannah Chrisley Reacts To Pardons
Following the initial call, Chrisleys’ attorney, Alex Little, said the pardon “corrects a deep injustice and restores two devoted parents to their family and community.”
“President Trump recognized what we’ve argued from the beginning: Todd and Julie were targeted because of their conservative values and high profile. Their prosecution was tainted by multiple constitutional violations and political bias,” Little said in a statement.
Little’s statement added, “Todd and Julie’s case is exactly why the pardon power exists. Thanks to President Trump, the Chrisley family can now begin healing and rebuilding their lives.”
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Savannah Chrisley hopped on social media to “Thank God for a president like Trump.” See what she said below:
Todd & Julie Chrisley Flashed Their Wealth & The Government Swooped In
Prosecutors said during Todd and Julie Chrisley’s trial that before they became reality television stars, the couple and a former business partner submitted false documents to banks in the Atlanta area to obtain fraudulent loans. They accused the couple of spending lavishly and then using new fraudulent loans to pay off old ones. Their high-end living included high-priced cars, designer clothes, real estate, and travel.
The Chrisleys were convicted in 2022 of conspiring to defraud banks in the Atlanta area out of more than $30 million. They were also found guilty of tax evasion, obscuring their earnings. Prosecutors said the couple walked away from their responsibility for repayment when Todd Chrisley declared bankruptcy, leaving $20-plus million in unpaid loans.
Ultimately, Julie Chrisley was sentenced to seven years in federal prison, and Todd Chrisley got 12 years behind bars. The couple was also ordered to pay $17.8 million in restitution.
Last summer, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Chrisleys’ convictions. However, the panel also found a legal error in how the trial judge calculated Julie Chrisley’s sentence by holding her accountable for the entire bank fraud scheme. The appellate panel sent her case back to the lower court for resentencing.
“You Get A Pardon, You Get A Pardon!” Trump Is Handing ‘Em Out!
An anonymous White House official told the Associated Press that more pardons are coming! Todd and Chrisely’s pardons continue a pattern of Trump getting off high-profile friends, supporters, donors, and former staffers.
Chrisley’s daughter, Savannah, spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention, where she talked about her parents’ imprisonment. She said then that they were “persecuted by rogue prosecutors” — echoing Trump’s rhetoric about the criminal justice system as he faced investigations and criminal cases of his own. She said Trump had been targeted for his politics, and said her parents likewise were targeted because of their conservative beliefs and high profile.
“I’ll never forget what the prosecutors said in the most heavily Democratic county in the state, before an Obama-appointed judge. He called us the ‘Trumps of the South,'” Savannah Chrisley said in her remarks at the convention. Adding, “He meant it as an insult but, let me tell you, boy, do I wear it as a badge of honor.”
On Monday, Trump pardoned Scott Jenkins. He is a former Virginia sheriff who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for fraud and bribery charges. The president posted online that Jenkins and his family “have been dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ.”
President Donald Trump has also moved to pardon Paul Walczak, a Florida health care executive imprisoned on tax charges. His mother helped expose the contents of a diary kept by Ashley Biden, daughter of former President Joe Biden.
In April, he pardoned Nevada Republican Michele Fiore. She was awaiting sentencing after being convicted of pocketing money meant for a statue honoring a slain police officer. She allegedly used the coins for personal costs, including plastic surgery.
Associated Press writers Will Weissert and Michelle L. Price contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
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