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DONALD Trump has defended his controversial plan to pardon multimillionaire fraudsters Todd and Julie Chrisley.
The reality TV stars’ doting daughter, Savannah Chrisley, has now revealed what the president said in a private phone call ahead of their release.
Today, Donald Trump granted pardons to Todd and Julie Chrisley, who had been sentenced for bank fraud and tax evasion in 2022 and have been incarcerated for the past two years.
The couple are famous for Chrisley Knows Best, a reality show that followed their tight-knit family and extravagant lifestyle.
This afternoon, a White House official, who requested anonymity, confirmed to The Washington Post that Trump’s promise to pardon the Chrisleys has materialized. Trump had assured their daughter that “your parents will be released and cleared… from what I’ve learned, they faced very severe penalties.”
An “excited” Savannah Chrisley spoke to cable network NewsNation today before jumping on a Florida-bound flight to meet her soon-to-be-freed dad.
She met Trump after speaking at last July’s Republican National Convention, where she was pictured alongside him in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The network asked her to confirm whether the president had called her while she was walking into a Sam’s Club, to reveal he was to set them free.
She laughed and replied, “Yes, the president called me as I was walking and so… I didn’t know what to do; I just ran back to my car at that point.”
The interviewer then inquired about her “appeal to President Trump regarding why your parents merited a pardon and what might have influenced his decision?”
Savannah explained, “I have fought for the past two-and-a-half years, for my parents to come home and I’ve been fighting for their freedom.”
The Chrisleys were convicted in 2022 of conspiring to defraud banks in the Atlanta area out of more than $30 million in loans by submitting false documents.
They were also found guilty of tax evasion, obscuring their earnings while showcasing a luxurious way of living that authorities said included high-priced cars, designer clothes, real estate and travel.
Julie Chrisley, 52, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison, and Todd Chrisley, 56, got 12 years behind bars. The couple was also ordered to pay $17.8 million in restitution.
TRUMPS OF THE SOUTH
But, Savannah maintained, “I have said from the beginning I believe in law and order, and if I believed my parents were guilty of what they did, then yes, they should have gone to prison.
“Even if they were guilty, the time they got was absolutely insane.
“But I brought up in our case the huge Fourth Amendment violations, the illegal seizures, the fact that they had my father’s face on a dartboard, the IRS agent lying on the stand and referring to us as the ‘Trumps of the south’.
“And also accusing my family of terrorism just so they could run a financial report.”
NOT TERRORISTS
When pressed on what in particular had resonated with Trump, she added, “He did say, he was like, ‘you know, you guys don’t look like terrorists to me’. Those were his exact words – which was pretty funny.
“But he just said that their sentences were ‘outrageous’ and they were ‘treated unfairly’ from everyone he has spoken to.
“And that he ‘wanted to bring my parents home’ and not just grant them a commutation but he wanted to give them a ‘full pardon.’”
Who has Donald Trump pardoned so far?
The Republican has already pardoned hundreds of people during his second presidential term, including:
January:
- Trump pardoned about 1,500 of his supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol four years ago
- Officer Terence Sutton and Lieutenant Andrew Zabavsky were reinstated to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) following their pardons after the cops were previously convicted and sentenced for their roles in a fatal crash that resulted in the death of 20-year-old black man, Karon Hylton-Brown
February:
- Trump pardoned Rod Blagojevich, the Democratic former governor of Illinois, whose sentence he had commuted in 2020, after he was convicted on corruption charges related to bribery
March:
- He pardoned Republican former Tennessee state Sen. Brian Kelsey just over two weeks into a 21-month sentence over a campaign finance-related fraud conviction
- Trump pardoned the three co-founders of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, Benjamin Delo, Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed, who had pleaded guilty in 2022 for failing to implement a Bank Secrecy Act-compliant anti-money laundering program
April:
- He pardoned Paul Walczak, a former nursing home executive who was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution for tax crimes
- Trump pardoned Republican former Las Vegas City Council member Michele Fiore, who had been set to be sentenced after she was convicted on conspiracy and wire fraud charges related to misused fundraising
May:
- Trump issued a pardon for a MAGA-aligned former Virginia sheriff, Scott Jenkins, who was convicted last year of federal bribery charges
- The president also pardoned Todd and Julie Chrisley, the former stars of USA Network’s Chrisley Knows Best, who had been found guilty of fraud and tax evasion
Savannah became the legal guardian of her younger siblings Chloe, 12, and Grayson, 19, following their parents’ imprisonment.
It’s going to be hard… I don’t think I’m mentally or emotionally prepared to see my parents see each other for the first time.
She explained that Grayson was with her at the time Trump called out of the blue.
Savannah said, “He was in the car when [Trump] called, and actually spoke to the president himself.”
Grayson studies at the University of Alabama, so they spoke about the president previously speaking at the institution, and her brother thanked the president for bringing his parents home.
IN SHOCK
“Chloe is still in shock and she doesn’t want to get her hopes up because she feels like something bad is gonna happen.
“But I’m excited about going to get my dad and bringing him home to her,” said Savannah.
She also said she expected her father to be a free man by tomorrow at the latest.
“If they don’t release him tonight then it’ll be tomorrow, so… we will get them acclimated back to normal life,” Savannah added.
“It’s going to be hard… I don’t think I’m mentally or emotionally prepared to see my parents see each other for the first time, or hear each other’s voice for the first time.
“Their 29th wedding anniversary was on May 25th, so they’ll have a late wedding anniversary.”
LARA TRUMP’S HELP
She also thanked Trump and his team profusely for their intervention, along with Fox News host Lara Trump, who is married to Eric Trump.
Savannah said her family was “eternally grateful to President Trump and the administration.
“I went on the Lara Trump show, and I believe that helped to put things over because he watches every episode of her show.
“She is doing a great job on Fox and I think that episode of the show reminded the president of my family’s story.”
But, Trump’s pardon of her mom and dad has proved contentious.
NO REMORSE
U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross had criticized their lack of remorse, saying during their sentencing, “I cannot ignore the greed and flamboyance in this case.”
Such pardons “aren’t the only evidence of a Justice Department de-emphasizing public corruption cases,” wrote NBC News.
“It’s clear that this administration doesn’t believe that tamping down on public corruption is a priority,” warned Stacey Young, a former Justice Department official who founded Justice Connection, a network of Justice Department alumni.
It follows the pardoning of the three co-founders of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX; the pardoning of about 1,500 of his supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol four years ago; and a pardon for a former Virginia sheriff who was convicted last year of federal bribery charges.
KIDNAP PLOT
Trump revealed today that he is also considering pardons for the people involved in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020.
Deputy White House press secretary, Harrison Fields, said in a statement on Tuesday that the Chrisleys’ sentences “were far too harsh.”
“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,” he added.
