Donald Trump to pardon reality stars Todd and Julie Chrisley of fraud and tax evasion convictions
US President Donald Trump says he will pardon two reality television stars convicted on federal charges of tax evasion and bank fraud.
In 2022, Todd and Julie Chrisley were found guilty of conspiring to defraud banks in the Atlanta, Georgia area out of more than $US30 million ($46.6 million) in loans by submitting false documents.
They were also convicted of tax evasion for obscuring their earnings while showcasing a luxurious lifestyle that authorities said included high-priced cars, designer clothes, real estate and travel.
The couple were made famous on the show Chrisley Knows Best, which followed their tight-knit family and extravagant lives.
Prosecutors said the couple walked away from their responsibility for repayments when Tom Chrisley declared bankruptcy and left more than $20 million in unpaid loans.
Julie Chrisley was sentenced to seven years in federal prison, while Todd Chrisley was handed 12 years behind bars.
The couple was also ordered to pay $17.8 million in restitution.
A video posted online by a White House aide showed Mr Trump telling the couple's daughter, Savannah Chrisley, her parents were "going to be free and clean" during a phone call.
He said he hoped "we can do it by tomorrow".
"They've been given a pretty harsh treatment, based on what I'm hearing," the president added.
A White House official, who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss decisions that had not yet been made public, said the pardons would be forthcoming.
The move continues a pattern of Mr Trump pardoning high-profile friends, supporters, donors and former staffers.
On Monday, the president pardoned Scott Jenkins, a former Virginia sheriff who was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted on fraud and bribery charges.
In a social media post, Mr Trump said Mr Jenkins and his family "have been dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ".
The Chrisleys' lawyer, Alex Little, said the pardon "corrects a deep injustice and restores two devoted parents to their family and community".
"President Trump recognized what we've argued from the beginning: Todd and Julie were targeted because of their conservative values and high profile," Mr Little said in a statement.
"Their prosecution was tainted by multiple constitutional violations and political bias."
Mr Little's statement added that the Chrisleys' case was "exactly why the pardon power exists".
Before the Chrisleys became reality television stars, they and a former business partner submitted false documents to banks in the Atlanta area to obtain fraudulent loans, prosecutors said during their trial.
They accused the couple of spending lavishly, then using new fraudulent loans to pay off old ones.
A three-judge panel of the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals last year upheld the Chrisleys' convictions but found a legal error in how the trial judge had calculated Julie Chrisley's sentence by holding her accountable for the entire bank fraud scheme.
The appellate panel sent her case back to the lower court for resentencing.
Savannah Chrisley spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention, where she talked about her parents' imprisonment.
She said then that they were "persecuted by rogue prosecutors", echoing Mr Trump's rhetoric about the criminal justice system as he faced investigations and criminal cases of his own.
Chrisley said Mr Trump had been targeted for his politics, and said her parents likewise were targeted because of their conservative beliefs and high profile.
"I'll never forget what the prosecutors said in the most heavily Democratic county in the state, before an Obama-appointed judge," she said at the convention.
"He called us the 'Trumps of the South'.
"He meant it as an insult but, let me tell you, boy, do I wear it as a badge of honour."
AP
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