On Tuesday, the White House announced Donald Trump’s intention to issue full pardons for reality TV stars Julie and Todd Chrisley. The Chrisleys are a married couple known for their television show “Chrisley Knows Best.” Trump decided to pardon the couple despite their 2022 federal convictions for fraud that defrauded community banks of more than $30 million via fraudulent loans and tax evasion for the act of concealing income while they continued to flaunt their luxurious lifestyles.
Trump Announces Pardon
After the White House announced the full pardons, Trump used his social media platform Truth Social to say he had personally called the Chrisleys to deliver the news, then added, “Trump Knows Best!”
Julie and Todd Chrisley’s reality TV show, The Chrisleys, debuted back in 2014 on the USA Network. The show had built a large following due to its Southern charm. However, in 2019, when federal charges of tax evasion, conspiracy, and wire fraud became public, their public image took a massive hit.
Todd Chrisley Sentenced To 12 Years
Julie Chrisley was sentenced to seven years in federal prison in 2022. Todd Chrisley received 12 years. The Chrisleys were also ordered to pay $17.8 million in restitution. During the trial, it was revealed that Todd had previously filed for bankruptcy and walked away from more than $20 million in unpaid loans.
Last summer, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the convictions. The court also ruled Julie’s sentence had been improperly calculated, and her case was returned to the lower court to be resentenced.
Chrisley’s Maintained Innocence
Throughout their appeals, the couple attracted media attention. Both Todd and Julie maintained their innocence throughout the court case. Trump’s special assistant, Margo Martin, shared a video of Trump calling Chrisley’s daughter, Savannah, to tell her he was pardoning her parents on the social media platform X. “President Trump calls @_ItsSavannah_to inform her that he will be granting full pardons to her parents, Julie and Todd Chrisley!” Martin posted.
Savannah Chrisley Pushed For Pardon
Savannah spoke at last year’s Republican National Convention. In Martin’s video, she thanks Trump. During an interview in February, she told PEOPLE magazine she hoped Trump would pardon her parents. “I know that I am going through the proper channels to do so, and I’m going to bring as much awareness to it as possible because these things should not happen,” she said.
“We thought it was going to end differently,” Savannah continued. “We had lawyers who had told us it was going to end differently. We stood in the truth, and we stood in what we knew to be the truth. We saw the corruption in Fulton County. We saw how the judge handled the case. We just saw all of it, and we’re like, ‘There’s no way. There’s no way it’s going to end this way.’ But it did,” she added.
