Reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley are released from federal prison after receiving Trump pardons
CNN The reality show couple Todd and Julie Chrisley were distributed from federal custody on Wednesday after they were pardoned by President Donald Trump following their convictions for fraud and tax crimes Todd Chrisley was serving a -year prison sentence in Pensacola while Julie Chrisley had been sentenced to seven years at a facility in Lexington Kentucky The couple is now headed home to Nashville a law firm representing the Chrisleys communicated CNN Wednesday The Chrisleys release was part of a succession of contentious new pardons by Trump including former Republican New York congressman Michael Grimm who served seven months for tax evasion and Connecticut s former Republican Gov John Rowland who was convicted of campaign-related federal crimes The Chrisley Knows Best couple was sentenced for conspiracy to defraud banks out of more than million and was also identified guilty of several tax crimes including attempting to defraud the Internal Revenue Amenity Both had maintained their innocence and were in the process of appealing their convictions when their daughter Savannah Chrisley received a call from the president on Tuesday informing her that her parents would receive full pardons Selected of these decisions about pardons aren t necessarily about guilt and innocence they re about how the process works or whether it should work this way Alex Little an attorney for the Chrisleys recounted CNN s Anderson Cooper Wednesday night after their release I think ultimately the White House was convinced it didn t work the way it should have In an unsuccessful appeal last year the Chrisleys attorneys argued that the prosecution knowingly allowed for false testimony against the couple and that they had insufficient evidence to convict them the Associated Press stated Judges at the th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Chrisleys conviction but ordered that Julie Chrisley s occurrence be sent back to a lower court to be resentenced due to a calculation error The pardon process is here to say we don t think the end product was the correct one and that s what the president did the present day Little stated Speaking to reporters before the couple s release Savannah Chrisley mentioned she had been fighting for her parents I ve had people say I wonder what she had to do to get this pardon I didn t have to do anything I didn t have to do anything other than stand firm in my beliefs and my convictions and fight for my parents and fight for what was right she noted And not only am I fighting for my parents I m literally fighting for every single man that s being left behind here currently There are so countless here that deserve a second chance Savannah Chrisley spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee Wisconsin in July She also campaigned for Trump as part of Gang Trump s Women Tour and in recent weeks appeared on Lara Trump s Fox News scheme to discuss her parents plight Speaking at the White House Wednesday the president weighed in on even more anticipated pardons saying he was going to look at it when sought if he planned to pardon the men convicted of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer in
