Trump to Pardon Reality TV Stars Convicted of Fraud
US President Donald Trump has announced he will pardon a couple who became reality TV stars before they were convicted of fraud and tax evasion.
Todd and Julie Chrisley’s Rise to Fame
Todd and Julie Chrisley starred on the reality TV show Chrisley Knows Best, which focused on the couple’s lifestyle as property tycoons in Nashville and Atlanta.
Conviction and Fraud Charges
However, in June 2022, a jury convicted them both of tax evasion, and defrauding banks by taking out more than $36 million (£26.6 million) in loans. 
Savannah Chrisley’s Media Appearance
The couple’s daughter, Savannah Chrisley, was a guest of the president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, on Fox News earlier this month.
Legal Timeline and Trial Details
The couple, Todd and Julie Chrisley, were originally indicted in 2019 and were subjected to a three-week trial on fraud, tax evasion, and obstruction of justice charges three years after that.
Details of the Fraudulent Scheme
They filed false paperwork to community banks, using the money to buy high-end cars, designer clothes, real estate, and travel, then repeating the process with new bogus loans to pay off the older ones, prosecutors said.
Concealing Income and Bankruptcy
When the money was used up, Todd Chrisley filed for bankruptcy. The couple then employed a company to conceal income from their TV show and failed to pay a $500,000 tax bill, prosecutors argued in 2022.
Guilty Verdict and Sentencing
The couple pointed to a former employee, but were found guilty following a three-week trial.
Todd Chrisley received a 12-year prison sentence, and Julie Chrisley was sentenced to seven years. Their accountant, Peter Tarantino, was also convicted and sentenced to three years.
Trump’s Public Support and Promise of Pardon
Trump was shown in a video posted online by White House aide Margo Martin as he spoke on the phone with the Chrisley children.
“Your parents are going to be free and clean and I hope that we can do that by tomorrow,” the president said. “I don’t know them, but give them my regards, and wish them the best.”
Savannah Chrisley’s Advocacy for Prison Reform
Podcaster and social media influencer Savannah Chrisley, who also made appearances on various reality TV shows, was among other reality stars who lobbied for Trump, speaking at the 2024 Republican National Convention to say that her parents had been persecuted by “rogue prosecutors” and that the US has a “two-faced justice system”.
Political Allegations and Comparisons to Trump’s Case
On the May 18 episode of Lara Trump’s Fox News show My View, she was identified as a prison reform advocate who’d had her parents prosecuted for their political beliefs – their case, she surmised, bore an eerie resemblance to the criminal charges brought against President Trump.
“Both of them were Democrats, they have donated to Democratic candidates,” Ms. Chrisley said to Lara Trump. “So we looked at trial and understood it was game over.”
The Chrisleys’ Reality TV Legacy
Chrisley Knows Best aired on the USA Network starting in 2014 and spawned several spinoffs, including According to Chrisley and Growing Up Chrisley.
A Pattern of Pardons from Trump
It’s the second pardon Trump has signalled in as many days. On Monday, he pardoned a former Virginia sheriff convicted of fraud and bribery.
Sheriff Scott Jenkins Also Pardoned
Former Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins was convicted last December of taking more than $75,000 (about £55,000) in kickbacks: in return for rides as law enforcement officers without any training, the businessman gave him bribes.
Jenkins, who has been a vocal backer of Trump throughout his presidency, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in March.
