Share:
Share:
President Donald Trump announced his decision to pardon Todd and Julie Chrisley, the reality TV couple from “Chrisley Knows Best,” convicted of fraud, tax evasion, and conspiracy to defraud the United States, with the pardons expected to be signed as early as Wednesday, May 28, 2025.
On Tuesday, May 27, 2025, Trump called the couple’s children, Savannah and Grayson Chrisley, from the Oval Office to inform them of his plan to pardon their parents.
Article Will Continue After Ads
Savannah Chrisley Instagram shared, “The president called me personally as I was walking into Sam’s Club and notified me that he was signing paper pardon paperwork for both of my parents.”
Todd and Julie Chrisley, known for their roles on the USA Network show “Chrisley Knows Best” since 2014, were convicted in June 2022 by an Atlanta jury for defrauding banks out of more than $36 million in personal loans and evading $500,000 in taxes owed by Todd Chrisley.
The couple, property tycoons in Nashville and Atlanta, submitted fake bank statements and other records to secure loans, which they spent on luxury cars, designer clothes, real estate, and travel.
After spending the funds, they used new fraudulent loans to pay off older ones and later filed for bankruptcy, with Todd Chrisley failing to pay a $500,000 tax bill.
The Chrisleys also hid income from their TV show through a company to avoid taxes for the years 2013 through 2016.
In November 2022, a judge sentenced Todd Chrisley to 12 years in prison and Julie Chrisley to seven years following their weekslong federal trial in Atlanta.
Their accountant, Peter Tarantino, was also convicted in the case and received a three-year sentence.
The couple faced initial indictments in 2019 on charges of fraud, tax evasion, and obstruction of justice, which they blamed on a former employee, but the jury found them guilty after a three-week trial.
Trump told the Chrisley children, “Your parents are going to be free and clean and I hope we can do it by tomorrow,” adding, “Give them my regards and wish them a good life.”
He further stated, “They were given a pretty harsh treatment based on what I’m hearing. Pretty harsh treatment.”
From Savannah Chrisley Instagram, saying, “Both my parents are coming home tonight or tomorrow and I still don’t believe it’s real I’m freaking out.”
“The fact that the president called me Um I will forever be grateful for President Trump his administration.”
Savannah has been a vocal advocate for her parents, claiming they were unfairly targeted by “rogue prosecutors” and a “two-faced justice system” during her speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
On Lara Trump’s Fox News show on May 18, 2025, Savannah stated, “Both prosecutors were Democrats, they have donated to Democratic candidates,” and added, “At trial, we knew it was game over.”
In a video posted by White House aide Margo Martin, Trump reiterated his commitment to the pardon, saying, “Your parents are going to be free and clean and I hope we can do that by tomorrow.”
Grayson Chrisley responded to Trump’s call, saying, “Mr. President, I just want to say thank you for bringing my parents back.”
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields stated, “President Trump 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.”
Fields further noted, “President Trump called Savannah and her brother from the Oval Office to personally inform them that he would be pardoning their parents, Todd and Julie Chrisley, whose sentences were far too harsh.”
A White House official confirmed that Trump will sign the pardons within 24 hours once the paperwork is ready.
Trump’s decision follows his pardon of Scott Jenkins, a former Culpeper County, Virginia, sheriff, on May 26, 2025, who was sentenced to 10 years in March 2025 for accepting over $75,000 in bribes to appoint untrained businessmen as auxiliary deputy sheriffs.
Trump described Jenkins and his family as having “been dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized” Justice Department during the Biden administration, a sentiment echoed in his rationale for the Chrisley pardons.
Since beginning his second term, Trump has granted pardons and commutations to thousands, including approximately 1,500 individuals involved in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
