President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday, May 27, that he planned to pardon reality stars Todd Chrisley and Julie Chrisley in their fraud and tax evasion cases — raising questions over whether they’d get back the money they’d paid out in restitution.
Trump confirmed during an Oval Office phone call with Savannah Chrisley that her parents would be pardoned as early as Wednesday, May 28, and could be released from prison soon after.
Todd, 55, and Julie, 52, were indicted on charges of tax evasion, bank and wire fraud and conspiracy in 2019 and were subsequently found guilty. Todd was sentenced to 12 years in prison and his wife was given a seven-year sentence. The Chrisleys maintained their innocence and continued to appeal their sentences, which were previously reduced in September 2023 by nearly two years.
As part of their sentence, the Chrisleys were ordered to pay more $17.8 million in restitution to their alleged victims. According to TMZ, their attorney Alex Little confirmed that the couple had paid a portion of their restitution but not all.
Trump’s impending pardon means that the Chrisleys will be able to immediately stop paying any remaining restitution, in addition to potentially getting back some of the money they paid out.
According to federal law, the president holds the power to order any restitution paid out to alleged victims to be returned to the person convicted of the crime. Trump’s pardon declaration has yet to be publicly released so there’s no telling whether or not Chrisleys will be able to reclaim the restitution funds from those they’ve already paid.
While announcing the pardons, Trump promised Savannah that her parents would be “free and clean” once their pardon was issued.
“It’s a terrible thing but it’s a great thing, because your parents are going to be free and clean,” Trump said in a clip shared via X. “I hope we can do it by tomorrow. I don’t know them, but give them my regards. [I] wish them a good life.”
Savannah subsequently thanked Trump and his pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson for supporting her two-year effort to have her parents freed. (Trump appointed Johnson as the nation’s first pardon czar earlier this year. He previously pardoned Johnson for a first-time, non-violent drug offense in 2018 after lobbying from Kim Kardashian.)
“For the past two and a half years, I’ve done everything in my power to fight for my parents’ freedom and bring them home,” Savannah, 27, told Us Weekly. “This moment is the answer to countless prayers, and I am beyond grateful to President Trump for seeing the truth and restoring my family.”
She added, “I also want to thank Alice Marie Johnson for her unwavering support and our attorney, Alex Little, for being an essential part of this process. Today is a victory for our family, but the fight against wrongful convictions and injustice within our prison system is far from over.”
While various members of the Chrisley clan have celebrated Todd and Julie’s forthcoming prison release, Trump’s decision has been met with some criticism. Tiger King star Joe Exotic railed against Trump’s clemency of the Chrisleys while he remains behind bars.
The reality star (real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage) is currently serving a 21-year federal prison sentence following an alleged murder-for-hire plot involving rival Carole Baskin. He has publicly campaigned for a pardon from Trump.
“I guess being innocent is not enough in America. They all admitted to perjury on world television but yet I’m left to die of cancer before I can get any help,” he complained via X on Tuesday. “Why is it the entire world can see the evidence but the White House refuses to acknowledge [it].”
Exotic previously announced in May 2021 that he’d been diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer.
