Donald Trump has shared his plans to issue full pardons to reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were serving years-long prison sentences after being convicted of federal bank fraud and tax evasion charges.
Margo Martin, the president’s special assistant and communications advisor, announced the news on Tuesday with a video of Trump on a phone call with Todd and Julie’s children, Savannah and Grayson Chrisley.
“It’s a great thing because your parents are going to be free and clean, and I hope we can do it by tomorrow. Is that OK?” Trump can be heard saying to Savannah and Grayson while sitting in the oval office. “I don’t know them but give them my regards.”
Harrison Fields, the principal deputy press secretary and special assistant to the president, confirmed Trump’s plan to pardon the Chrisleys in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
“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,” Fields said. “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.”
Todd and Julie were found guilty on federal charges including bank fraud and tax evasion in June 2022. The couple was later sentenced in November of the same year, with Todd receiving 12 years in prison plus 16 months of probation, while Julie Chrisley got seven years behind bars and 16 months of probation and are currently serving their sentences.
The Chrisleys shot to prominence via their USA Network show Chrisley Knows Best, which spotlighted their family, which has mostly starred Todd, Julie, their daughter Savannah, their elder son Chase, their youngest son Grayson and Chloe, the biological daughter of their eldest son Kyle, who was adopted in 2016.
After her parents went away to serve their time, Savannah gained custody of both Grayson and Chloe. She has notably “been fighting tirelessly for a presidential pardon to free her parents,” and spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention where she said that “due to our public profile and conservative beliefs, they accused my parents of fraud when really we were defrauded by a dishonest business partner.”
The announcement from the president comes almost a week after Lifetime announced the family’s return to reality TV. The Untitled Chrisleys Project will be “pulling back the curtain” on the Chrisleys’ “unprecedented access to their lives in a deeply personal and dramatic new series.”
Notably, both Chase and Savannah are executive producers on the new series that hails from Bunim/Murray, the same entity behind Surviving R. Kelly, The Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Confessions of Octomom.