How Savannah Chrisley buddied up with the Trumps and helped secure freedom for her parents
Shortly after Julie and Todd Chrisley were sent to federal prison in Nov. 2022, their daughter Savannah took a gamble.
She 'came out' as a Republican and started to publicly cozy up to the Trump family as part of her strategy to free her mom and dad, sentenced to seven and 12 years respectively for bank and tax fraud of over $30m in loans.
This week it was finally realized as President Trump pardoned them both and they are already back at home with their family.
7 Savannah Chrisley appears to be the mastermind behind her parents' presidential pardon.
AP
However, that dream was still distant in September 2023 when Savannah, 27, appeared on Lara Trump's 'The Right View' podcast to talk about her parents' plight and prison reform.
She made sure to mention how Fulton County, Georgia, prosecutors started her parents' trial by calling them the 'Trumps of the South' — a line she would go on to repeat many times while campaigning for their release.
She added to Lara, wife of Eric Trump: 'For me that was, it should scare people, that we have prosecutors using such a polarizing statement to potentially sway the jurors.'
Savannah was also honest about being new to prison reform, telling the host: 'I'm like the poster child for being tone-deaf to our [prison] system. It didn't affect me, why should I care? And then, as my parents are in there and they start telling me these things, I'm like, wait a second, it's 115 degrees and you have no air conditioning.'
7 Todd and Julie Chrisley were both released from prison on Wednesday, thanks to their daughter's advocacy.
Getty Images for ACM
7 Savannah Chrisley appeared on Lara Trump's podcast in September 2023.
The Right View
Judging by their interactions on the podcast, it appeared to be the first time the ladies had spoken with each other.
Getting Savannah on the show was also quite a big score for Lara's podcast, which has a following of 28,000 on Instagram, far less than Savannah's own podcast which has 156,000 followers and gets an average of around 100,000 more views on YouTube per show than 'The Right View.'
From there the two ladies seem to have formed a strong bond, and Savannah became one of the more prominent celebrity voices behind then-candidate Trump.
She started donning pink MAGA hats and putting her political views to her almost three million personal Instagram followers, which she says resulted in 'lost deals' from sponsors.
7 Savannah Chrisley appears to have visited the White House twice this year.
Savannah Chrisley/ Instagram
She then appeared at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July 2024, where her speech focused on the 'injustices' her parents suffered in prison and the 'inhumane' treatment they had been subject to, which was later hailed as 'powerful'.
Savannah appeared alongside Lara again at a Women for Trump rally in Phoenix in October 2024 and earlier this month their relationship went full circle as she appeared on Fox's 'My View with Lara Trump' to again speak about prison reform. She followed that appearance up with an Instagram post calling Lara 'my sweet friend.'
Savannah also appears to have visited the White House twice during the Trump presidency, in March and in April, while she golfed at Trump National Golf Club in Palm Beach, Florida, in May.
7 President Trump personally called Savannah Chrisley to inform her about the pardon on Tuesday.
Savannah Chrisley/ Instagram
7 President Trump pardoned Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were convicted of plotting to defraud banks.
Savannah Chrisley/ Instagram
Now her parents have been freed, others in their orbit say they hope the Chrisleys will continue their fight on behalf of the incarcerated and wrongly convicted.
'Savannah presents herself as an advocate for prison reform, but time will tell if her advocacy is real or limited to advocating only for her parents,' Peter Tarantino, the family's accountant who was convicted alongside Julie and Todd, but not pardoned, told The Post.
Tarantino, who was sentenced to three years and paid a $35,000 fine, added 'I absolutely deserve a pardon,' and said he has also been contacting the president's office.
7 The family's accountant Peter Tarantino is seeking a pardon from the president.
'I don't have the platform or resources the Chrisley's have, but I intend to pursue my options… They used their platform [to] profess their innocence but never made any statements that benefited me,' he added.
However, he added of Savannah: 'I think she did what any daughter would do in a similar situation.'
What does it take to get a personal pardon for your parents from the President of the United States? Apparently years of cozying up to the Trump family.
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MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico held its first-ever judicial elections Sunday, stirring controversy and sowing confusion among voters who struggled to understand a process set to transform the country's court system. Polls closed and poll workers began counting colored ballots Sunday night with the question hanging in the air of what will become of Mexico's judiciary, the answer to which will only emerge in the coming days as results roll in. Mexico's electoral authority announced late in the night that 13% of Mexico's 100 million voters cast ballots at the polls, lagging far behind the 60% turnout just a year before during the country's presidential election. Nevertheless, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called the voting 'a complete success.' 'Mexico is the most democratic country in the world,' she added. Experts warned of startling low turnout in the lead up to the historic elections due to the mindboggling array of unfamiliar choices and the novelty of voting for judges. 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Others like Martha Tamayo, a lawyer and former congresswoman from conflict-ravaged Sinaloa, cast doubt on projections that the election could hand even more power over to criminals and criminal groups, simply because they already have a strong control over courts. 'The influence of criminal groups already exists,' she said. 'The cartels go with the judges (bribe them) whether they are elected or not.' 'You have to start with something' The public has been plagued by confusion over a voting process that Patin warned has been hastily thrown together. Voters often have to choose from more than a hundred candidates who are not permitted to clearly voice their party affiliation or carry out widespread campaigning. As a result, many Mexicans said they were going into the vote blind, though others voting Sunday noted they supported the process despite the confusion. Mexico's electoral authority has investigated voter guides being handed out across the country, in what critics say is a blatant move by political parties to stack the vote in their favor. 'Political parties weren't just going to sit with their arms crossed,' Patin said. While still unsure if his vote would improve access to justice for many Mexicans, 61-year-old actor Manuel José Contreras defended the election, Sheinbaum and her party. He cast his ballot with a tone of hope. 'The reform has its problems but we needed an urgent change,' he said. 'You have to start with something.' ___ AP journalists in Mexico Edgar H. Clemente in Tapachula, Alba Aléman in Xalapa and Fernando Llano in Mexico City contributed to this report. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . 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