Todd and Julie Chrisley have not only recovered their freedom but may also recover millions of dollars spent in compensation.
President Trump pardoned the Chrisleys on Tuesday, stating his belief that their prosecution and sentencing were unjust.
The Chrisleys received sentences exceeding 7 years in jail and were mandated to reimburse almost $17 million in reparations. Their attorney has said that they have reimbursed a portion of the reparations, but not the whole.
According to federal law, when a President grants a pardon to a prisoner, any outstanding reparations is instantly nullified. The Chrisleys are no longer obligated to settle their debts.
Under federal law, the President has the authority to mandate that victims who received compensation must reimburse the individual convicted of the offense if reparation has been paid. Currently, we have not seen the pardon paper signed by the President to ascertain whether restitution is a possibility.
The Chrisleys were convicted of federal offenses related to bank fraud and tax evasion, resulting in Todd receiving a 12-year jail term and Julie a 7-year sentence.
The reality television duo previously submitted petitions for reduced sentences, which were granted; nevertheless, Trump intervened with complete pardons. Todd and Julie were first charged by a federal grand jury in 2019, during Trump’s first presidential term.
Last year at the Republican National Convention, Savannah, the daughter of Todd and Julie, criticized her parents’ convictions, denouncing the prosecutors involved in their federal case in Georgia. She implied that political motivations influenced their convictions and asserted that a judge appointed by Obama referred to her family as “the Trumps of the South.”
Alex Little, an attorney representing the Chrisleys and partner at Litson PLLC, said, “President Trump acknowledged our longstanding assertion: Todd and Julie were targeted due to their conservative values and prominent public status.” Their prosecution was compromised by several constitutional infringements and political partiality.
