Todd and Julie Chrisley, TV stars in prison for tax evasion, getting pardoned by Trump
From a podcast to the president: According to President Donald Trump, Todd and Julie Chrisley will be pardoned.
The embattled reality TV stars shot to fame thanks to their hit show "Chrisley Knows Best.'
In an X post May 27 from spokesperson Margo Martin, Trump called the Chrisleys' daughter Savannah Chrisley to share the news of the impending release.
"It's a great thing because your parents are going to be free and clean and I hope we can do it by tomorrow," Trump told the reality TV star and influencer, seated as his "pardon czar" Alice Marie Johnson stood next to him.
USA TODAY has reached out to the Chrisley's attorney for comment.
Savannah Chrisley has used several platforms to discuss freeing her parents, reality stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who are in prison for tax evasion.
For years, the couple portrayed themselves as real estate tycoons on their hit show "Chrisley Knows Best.' Years later, they had their assets frozen and were each convicted of bank fraud.
'Chrisley Knows Best' documented the Chrisleys' lavish lifestyle in Atlanta and Nashville. The show drew in more than 2 million viewers by its eighth season and inspired spinoffs such as "Growing Up Chrisley" and "According to Chrisley."
But on Jan. 17, 2023, the Chrisleys traded their luxurious lifestyle for prison time, turning themselves in to their respective prisons. Prosecutors said the reality TV couple was driven by greed as they engaged in an extensive bank fraud scheme and then hid their wealth from tax authorities.
Reality stars' prison release dates, from Julie and Todd Chrisley to a 'Real Housewives' star
One of their biggest supporters? "Growing Up Chrisley" star Savannah Chrisley.
Below is what we know about Savannah, Todd and Julie Chrisley, their prison sentences and plea for freedom amid tax evasion.
It's been more than two years since Julie and Todd Chrisley began their prison sentences for bank fraud. But instead of the respective seven- and 12-year sentences, each has had their prison time slightly reduced.
The Chrisleys gained fame on the USA Network reality show "Chrisley Knows Best." However, their image as savvy real estate tycoons was sullied in June 2022, when the pair was found guilty of tax evasion and defrauding community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans.
Julie Chrisley, 52, is serving her prison sentence at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, with an expected release date of Jan. 8, 2028, according to a May 21, 2025, Bureau of Prisons record check.
Todd Chrisley is serving time at FPC Pensacola and was expected to be released April 7, 2032, more than two years before his original 12-year sentence was supposed to be up.
However, Todd and Julie Chrisley were pardoned by President Donald Trump on May 27, 2025.
Savannah Chrisley is a reality TV star and daughter of embattled reality TV show parents Todd Chrisley and Julie Chrisley. Her parents are serving prison sentences after a jury found them guilty in 2022 of conspiring to defraud community banks, defraud the IRS and commit tax evasion.
Savannah Chrisley is also known for her appearances in "The Masked Singer," "Special Forces: World's Toughest Test" and "Sharknado: The 4th Awakens." Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, the reality TV star lives in Tennessee, where, in addition to podcasting, she works in real estate.
She won Miss Tennessee Teen USA in 2016 and placed in the Top 15 at Miss Teen USA 2016. During her appearance on "The Masked Singer" on Fox, she was revealed as the "Afghan Hound" on the "Wizard of US" night.
She starred with her siblings, parents and niece on USA Network's hit "Chrisley Knows Best," which followed the family's life in Atlanta and later Nashville, Tennessee, for 10 seasons from 2014 through 2023. The reality show chronicled Todd and Julie Chrisley in their lives as real estate tycoons in the South.
"Growing Up Chrisley," a spin-off featuring the couple's adult children, Chase and Savannah Chrisley, went on for four seasons after its 2019 premiere.
The daughter of Todd and Julie Chrisley has used her podcast and reality TV show appearances to shine a light on prison reform. The plea for their release has also reached the highest office in the land:
Savannah Chrisley was a guest speaker at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in July 2024, ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
In September 2024, Savannah Chrisley, her brother Chase Chrisley and the family attorney Alex Little attended a resentencing hearing in Atlanta, Georgia, for Julie Chrisley.
Savannah Chrisley and Lara Trump, former co-chair of the RNC, is Donald Trump's daughter-in-law. Lara Trump and Savannah Chrisley campaigned on his behalf as part of the Team Trump's Women Tour in fall 2024.
After the election, Savannah Chrisley appealed to the Trump administration for Todd and Julie Chrisley's pardon. She visited the White House in February 2025, just over a month after Inauguration Day (Jan. 20, 2025).
On May 17 2025, Savannah Chrisley appeared on "My View with Lara Trump" on Fox News.
On May 27, 2025, 10 days after Savannah Chrisley appeared on 'My View with Lara Trump' on Fox News, a spokesperson for Donald Trump said Todd and Julie Chrisley were granted a pardon.
Savannah Chrisley, the daughter of Todd and Julie Chrisley of "Chrisley Knows Best," will appear on "My View with Lara Trump," which airs at 9 p.m. ET Saturdays on Fox News. "My View with Lara Trump" made its debut Feb. 22, 2025. The "Savannah Chrisley" episode aired May 17, 2025.
In Lara Trump's Instagram post, she tags "My View" and Savannah Chrisley, with the caption, the "former TV star, a podcast host, and now a criminal justice reform advocate and guardian to her two young siblings while her parents, Todd and Julie, remain behind bars." She joins Lara Trump "to share her story."
Contributing: Joyce Orlando, USA TODAY Network
Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.
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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump, Todd and Julie Chrisley timeline: TV to prison to pardon
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