{"id":1956016,"date":"2025-08-12T14:31:30","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T14:31:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1956016"},"modified":"2025-08-12T14:31:30","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T14:31:30","slug":"trump-pardons-julie-and-todd-chrisley-reality-tv-stars-convicted-in-2022-of-fraud-and-tax-evasion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/trump-pardons-julie-and-todd-chrisley-reality-tv-stars-convicted-in-2022-of-fraud-and-tax-evasion\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump pardons Julie and Todd Chrisley, reality TV stars convicted in 2022 of fraud and tax evasion"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump signed pardons Wednesday for reality TV stars <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/donald-trump-pardons-julie-todd-chrisley-tv-9099b7c854c8c056af79c4113bd0a7f9\">Julie and Todd Chrisley<\/a><\/span>, who were serving federal prison sentences after being convicted three years ago of bank fraud and tax evasion.<\/p>\n<p>The pardons paved the way for the couple, best known for the TV series \u201cChrisley Knows Best,\u201d to be freed hours later. Todd Chrisley was released from a minimum-security prison camp in Pensacola in the evening, and Julie Chrisley left a facility in Lexington, Kentucky, according to Shannen Sharpe, a spokesperson for the couple\u2019s attorney.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe just want to get home. We want to be reunited,\u201d the couple\u2019s daughter, Savannah Chrisley, told reporters outside the Florida prison earlier as she awaited her father. She said her brother Grayson was meeting their mother in Kentucky. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy parents have not spoken to each other, heard each others\u2019 voices or seen each other in the past 2 \u00bd years,\u201d said Savannah Chrisley, who wore a bubble gum pink MAGA hat and matching \u201cWomen for Trump\u201d jacket.<\/p>\n<p>The Chrisleys\u2019 TV show portrayed them as a tight-knit family with an extravagant lifestyle. Prosecutors at the couple\u2019s <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/entertainment-julie-chrisley-todd-atlanta-business-994090f5f18e0dd2bfd1e95c3521c85f\">2022 trial<\/a><\/span> said they spent lavishly on expensive cars, designer clothes, real estate and travel after taking out fraudulent bank loans worth millions of dollars and hiding their earnings from tax authorities.<\/p>\n<div class=\"Enhancement\" data-align-center=\"\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement-item\">\n<div class=\"ImageEnhancement\">\n<p>    <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"AnchorLink\" id=\"image-de0000\"\/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"Image\" alt=\"Fans Emma Touchstone, 17, left, and Kelsey Heath with her four-month-old daughter Maggie Fields wait for reality television star Todd Chrisley walks out of the Federal Prison Camp, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Pensacola, Fla. (AP Photo\/Dan Anderson)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dims.apnews.com\/dims4\/default\/14e5d27\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/5370x3580+0+0\/resize\/599x399!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2Fe8%2F5b%2F67ab9cf1a3689e9073d3f9e6a732%2Fe4f396a9fe664cf4bb27deef16de3ec4 1x,https:\/\/dims.apnews.com\/dims4\/default\/4b1c7bb\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/5370x3580+0+0\/resize\/1198x798!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2Fe8%2F5b%2F67ab9cf1a3689e9073d3f9e6a732%2Fe4f396a9fe664cf4bb27deef16de3ec4 2x\" width=\"599\" height=\"399\" src=\"https:\/\/dims.apnews.com\/dims4\/default\/14e5d27\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/5370x3580+0+0\/resize\/599x399!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2Fe8%2F5b%2F67ab9cf1a3689e9073d3f9e6a732%2Fe4f396a9fe664cf4bb27deef16de3ec4\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"Figure-content\">\n<div class=\"Figure-content-text\">\n<p>Fans Emma Touchstone, 17, left, and Kelsey Heath with her four-month-old daughter Maggie Fields wait for reality television star Todd Chrisley walks out of the Federal Prison Camp, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Pensacola, Fla. (AP Photo\/Dan Anderson)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"CarouselOverlay-slides\" data-slidescount=\"1\">\n<div class=\"CarouselOverlay-slide\" data-slidenumber=\"0\">\n<div class=\"CarouselOverlay-columns\">\n<div class=\"CarouselOverlay-info\">\n<div class=\"CarouselOverlay-info-description\">\n<p>Fans Emma Touchstone, 17, left, and Kelsey Heath with her four-month-old daughter Maggie Fields wait for reality television star Todd Chrisley walks out of the Federal Prison Camp, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Pensacola, Fla. (AP Photo\/Dan Anderson)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Read More<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-pardon-julie-todd-chrisley-reality-tv-2f79831f142de44b36922ebdbc959f04\">Trump announced<\/a><\/span> his intention to pardon them on Tuesday, saying the celebrity couple had been \u201cgiven a pretty harsh treatment based on what I\u2019m hearing.\u201d It was another example of the president, himself a former reality TV star, pardoning high-profile friends, supporters, donors and former staffers.<\/p>\n<p>Savannah Chrisley has been a vocal Trump supporter and endorsed his candidacy in a speech at the Republican National Convention last summer. Though she has complained that the case against her parents was politically motivated, they were indicted in 2019 under a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney, Byung J. \u201cBJay\u201d Pak. <\/p>\n<p>Regardless, Savannah Chrisley said officials in the Trump administration who reviewed her parents\u2019 case had \u201cseen the corruption.\u201d She told reporters that the president delivered the news of the pardons himself, calling unexpectedly while she was at the grocery store.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t have to do anything other than stand firm in my beliefs and my convictions and fight for my parents,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>She paused to take photos with fans and supporters gathered outside the prison before getting into a vehicle that took her past its security checkpoint.<\/p>\n<p>The Chrisleys\u2019 attorney, Alex Little, said Tuesday that the pardon \u201ccorrects a deep injustice\u201d in which the couple were \u201ctargeted because of their conservative values and high profile.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before she was pardoned, Julie Chrisley, 52, had been scheduled for release in January 2028, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, while Todd Chrisley, 56, was to remain behind bars until September 2032.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors said at trial that the Chrisleys had not yet become TV stars when they and a former business partner submitted false documents to banks in the Atlanta area to obtain fraudulent loans. New loans were taken out to pay off the old ones, according to prosecutors, until Todd Chrisley filed for bankruptcy, walking away from more than $20 million in unpaid loans.<\/p>\n<p>The defense argued that an IRS officer gave false testimony during the trial and that prosecutors lacked evidence to support convictions.<\/p>\n<p>A panel of judges of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Chrisleys\u2019 convictions last year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"Enhancement\" data-align-center=\"\">\n<div class=\"Enhancement-item\">\n<div class=\"ImageEnhancement\">\n<p>    <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"AnchorLink\" id=\"image-f90000\"\/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"Image\" alt=\"Kelsey Heath, left, and Emma Touchstone, 17, wait for reality television star Todd Chrisley to walk out of the Federal Prison Camp, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Pensacola, Fla. (AP Photo\/Dan Anderson)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dims.apnews.com\/dims4\/default\/cc71100\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/5135x3423+0+0\/resize\/599x399!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2Fcd%2F2b%2F339e8617348debcabb2038329f69%2F45b9b3d3dc5544be9ae49b4c5f100083 1x,https:\/\/dims.apnews.com\/dims4\/default\/26b5e3e\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/5135x3423+0+0\/resize\/1198x798!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2Fcd%2F2b%2F339e8617348debcabb2038329f69%2F45b9b3d3dc5544be9ae49b4c5f100083 2x\" width=\"599\" height=\"399\" src=\"https:\/\/dims.apnews.com\/dims4\/default\/cc71100\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/5135x3423+0+0\/resize\/599x399!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2Fcd%2F2b%2F339e8617348debcabb2038329f69%2F45b9b3d3dc5544be9ae49b4c5f100083\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"Figure-content\">\n<div class=\"Figure-content-text\">\n<p>Kelsey Heath, left, and Emma Touchstone, 17, wait for reality television star Todd Chrisley to walk out of the Federal Prison Camp, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Pensacola, Fla. (AP Photo\/Dan Anderson)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"CarouselOverlay-slides\" data-slidescount=\"1\">\n<div class=\"CarouselOverlay-slide\" data-slidenumber=\"0\">\n<div class=\"CarouselOverlay-columns\">\n<div class=\"CarouselOverlay-info\">\n<div class=\"CarouselOverlay-info-description\">\n<p>Kelsey Heath, left, and Emma Touchstone, 17, wait for reality television star Todd Chrisley to walk out of the Federal Prison Camp, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Pensacola, Fla. (AP Photo\/Dan Anderson)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Read More<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Waiting to meet her father, Savannah Chrisley said her family was making plans to do a lot of catching up. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re going to celebrate anniversaries, birthdays, Christmases, all the things,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause we\u2019re going to make up for the lost time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia.<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>This story has been corrected to show that Todd Chrisley\u2019s age is 56, not 57.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>\n  window.fbAsyncInit = function() {\n      FB.init({\n              appId : '870613919693099',\n          xfbml : true,\n          version : 'v2.9'\n      });\n  };\n  (function(d, s, id){\n     var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n     if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;}\n     js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n     js.src = \"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\";\n     fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n   }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source apnews.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump signed pardons Wednesday for reality TV stars Julie and Todd Chrisley, who were serving federal prison sentences after being convicted three years ago of bank fraud and tax evasion. The pardons paved the way for the couple, best known for the TV series \u201cChrisley Knows Best,\u201d to be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1956017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[343260,314469,343257,305246,22389,21741,343259,22373,30818,21791,154604,22796,343258,330695,307822,305240,22048,305239,343261,305250,338393,306767,30188],"class_list":["post-1956016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists","tag-alex-little","tag-atlanta","tag-corporate-crime","tag-crime","tag-donald-trump","tag-entertainment","tag-fl-state-wire","tag-florida","tag-fraud","tag-general-news","tag-julie-chrisley","tag-kentucky","tag-ky-state-wire","tag-law-and-order","tag-legal-proceedings","tag-pensacola","tag-politics","tag-prisons","tag-shannen-sharpe","tag-tax-evasion","tag-todd-chrisley","tag-trials","tag-u-s-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Trump-pardons-Julie-and-Todd-Chrisley-reality-TV-stars-convicted.com2Fe82F5b2F67ab9cf1a3689e9073d3f9e6a7322Fe4f396a9fe664cf4bb27.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1956016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1956016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1956016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1956017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1956016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1956016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1956016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}