Reality star and convicted fraudster Todd Chrisley opened up about his emotional release from prison and the reaction of his fellow inmates — just moments after taking a swipe at CNN during a press conference Friday.
“When I left that day, there was only 317 men at our camp, but they were lined up shouting when I was walking out and they were saying ‘Dont forget us, don’t forget us’ and my commitment is to them that I will never forget them,” Chrisley, 56, told reporters in Nashville alongside his daughter Savannah.
The reality star, who was released from federal prison on Wednesday night alongside his wife, Julie Chrisley, after President Trump announced plans to pardon the couple, emphasized systemic issues he witnessed firsthand at the FPC Pensacola lockup in Florida.
“Anyone who says it’s a fair shake, it’s not. I dealt with young African American males in the prison that I was in who were not treated the same. They were denied programming. They were denied access to certain things. I was not denied that, but we know why I wasn’t denied,” Todd Chrisley said.
Chrisley, who was convicted with his wife of faking documents to obtain over $30 million in loans, and then dumping them by declaring bankruptcy, took a swipe at the left-wing media’s portrayal of the case.
“You must be from CNN,” he mockingly responded to an unidentified reporter who asked if he felt any remorse over his conviction.
“You’re placed in a position as a defendant to either bow down and kiss the ass of the DOJ and accept responsibility for things that you did not do in order to avoid a stronger sentence,” he said.
Stay up to date on recently pardoned reality star, Todd Chrisley
The “Chrisley Knows Best” star described his time in prison as eye-opening and vowed to continue advocacy efforts for inmates with his family.
“I will continue to fight for all the guys that I dealt with and that I was blessed to be with at FPC Pensacola. I will continue to expose the injustices that go on there and throughout the department and throughout the Bureau of Prisons,” he said.
Chrisley also reflected on the moment he first learned of his pardon, describing it as surreal.
“I had a staff member that came up to me and said, ‘You’ve just been pardoned,’ and I just looked at him, and he said, ‘No really, you’ve been pardoned. It’s in the news.”
Savannah also recounted the moment she learned her parents would be pardoned on the way to the grocery store.
“When I got the call, like I said, I was walking into the grocery store, and I stopped in the parking lot. I was like, what do I do?.. and so I sat in my car and had that phone conversation that’s online with President Trump… Grayson [her brother] was with me and we’re like, oh my god, it’s happening, it’s happening,” she said.
Todd Chrisley was freed after serving just over two years of his 12-year sentence. His 52-year-old wife was let out of FMC Lexington in Kentucky, where she had been serving out a seven-year prison term.
President Trump announced plans to pardon the reality TV couple on Tuesday and followed through Wednesday afternoon, telling their adult kids from the Oval Office that the sentences were “pretty harsh treatment.”
“This should not have happened,” the president told 27-year-old Savannah by phone. “They were given a pretty harsh treatment based on what I’m hearing.
“Your parents are going to be free and clean,” he added. “I don’t know them, but give them my regards and wish them a good life.”
The glamorous couple’s daughter has been championing their case in conservative circles since their conviction, going so far as to speak at the Republican National Convention in 2024 to proclaim that they’d been “persecuted by rogue prosecutors” for their conservative values.
Todd and Julie Chrisley – who celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary days ago on May 25 – haven’t seen or spoken to each other since they reported for prison in 2023, Savannah said.
But once the family is settled back home, they’re ready to jump back into television and have a Lifetime show waiting for them “that will document all of these things,” Savannah revealed to reporters on Wednesday.
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