Todd Chrisley made his first public remarks since he and his wife Julie were pardoned by President Donald Trump earlier this week.
Todd and Julie Chrisley were best known for their 10-season USA Today reality show “Chrisley Knows Best.” They were in prison for charges that include bank fraud and tax evasion.
Todd Chrisley, 57, had been serving a 12-year sentence at a minimum-security men’s federal prison in Florida. Julie Chrisley, 52, had been serving a seven-year sentence at a federal prison in Kentucky. Both were released on Wednesday, after the pardons from Mr. Trump.
The reality star said that his prosecution had been politically motivated and denied any wrongdoing. He and his daughter Savannah teased the family would return to the screen in a new TV series. The new show will detail the couple’s legal battle, Savannah Chrisley said.
“It’s going to give people a look into the trial and things that we went through, and we’re going to set the record straight,” she said Friday.
Cameras for the untitled show “started filming literally the night that we got home,” Todd Chrisley said. Savannah Chrisley said the cameras captured her parents’ homecoming.
“You will see the first time he and Mom see each other for the first time,” Savannah Chrisley said.
Todd Chrisley said he has been relieved to reunite with his wife and family. He said he was able to e-mail his wife from prison and stay in contact with Savannah and their other four children.
“I woke up the first morning and I was looking around and like, ‘This is really real. I’m home,'” Todd Chrisley said. “So I was grateful for our family to be all back in the same room, to be together, to share a meal together, to pray together, and to know that we’re still in the fight together.”
Jurors found the reality TV stars had submitted fake bank statements and financial records to receive personal loans. They then used the money to buy luxury cars, designer clothes and real estate. They also concealed the millions they made from their reality show and failed to file tax returns and pay taxes. Julie Chrisley was also convicted of obstruction of justice.
Mr. Trump spoke to the Chrisleys’ children on Tuesday, the day before they were officially pardoned. He told them that he believed the Chrisleys received “pretty harsh treatment, based on what I’m hearing.”
Mr. Trump said he does not know the Chrisleys personally. Savannah Chrisley was a speaker at the 2024 Republican National Convention. She also spoke with Mr. Trump’s daughter-in-law Laura Trump earlier this month, and compared her family’s case to the president’s legal troubles.
The Chrisley’s law firm said in a statement that the pair sought a presidential pardon by alleging “serious misconduct by the government, including an illegal raid, reliance on tainted evidence and a trial that featured false testimony from a key government witness.”
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