Wednesday, May 28, 2025 - US President Donald Trump has revealed that he will pardon reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were convicted of tax evasion and bank fraud, and sentenced to several years behind bars.
“It’s a terrible thing, but it’s a great thing because your
parents are going to be free and clean,” Trump said on a phone call with the
couple’s daughter, Savannah Chrisley.
“I hope we can do it by tomorrow,” he added, according to
a video posted on X by special assistant to
the president and communications advisor Margo Martin.
“I don’t know them, but give them my regards,” Trump said.
Trump has granted a number of high-profile,
controversial pardons since returning to the White House, including for
individuals convicted of white-collar crimes.
Todd and Julie Chrisley, known for their series “Chrisley
Knows Best,” were found guilty in 2022 of conspiring to defraud
Atlanta-area community banks to get more than $36 million in personal loans,
according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of
Georgia.
They also “conspired to defraud the Internal Revenue
Service,” per the attorney’s office.
Todd Chrisley was sentenced to 12 years in prison, and Julie
Chrisley was sentenced to seven years.
“The President is always pleased to give well-deserving
Americans a second chance, especially those who have been unfairly targeted and
overly prosecuted by an unjust justice system,” White House spokesman Harrison
Fields said late Tuesday in a statement about the pardon to NBC News.
Savannah Chrisley, a reality television star, had been
lobbying for a pardon for her parents, telling PEOPLE in February
that she is “going through the proper channels.”
She also spoke at the Republican National Convention
last year, when she criticized the prosecutors who brought her parents’ case.
An attorney for Todd and Julie Chrisley said in a statement
late Tuesday that his clients “will soon be released from prison” as a result
of Trump’s pardon.
“This pardon corrects a deep injustice and restores two
devoted parents to their family and community,” Alex Little, a partner at
Litson PLLC, said.
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