Todd and Julie Chrisley’s recent pardon was due to a family member’s hard work and not their celebrity status, according to a White House official.
“I’m going to say that if they did not have a daughter like Savannah who was out there fighting for them, they would not have been pardoned,” White House Pardon Czar Alice Marie Johnson said on the Thursday, May 29, episode of NewsNation Live. “The celebrity part really didn’t play a role in this.”
On Tuesday, May 27, President Donald Trump announced his plans to pardon Todd, 56, and Julie, 52, after they were convicted of bank fraud in 2022. He shared the news with the couple’s daughter via a phone call when she was running errands at Sam’s Club.
“This is a young woman whose parents were gone,” Johnson, 69, explained to host Marni Hughes. “My children fought like warriors for my freedom. So they are — everyone is — celebrating in my family because they know how it feels to be just as impacted.”
A Comprehensive Guide to the Chrisley Family: Todd, Julie and More
Johnson found herself behind bars when she was convicted in 1996 for a first-time, nonviolent drug offense. She was sentenced to life without parole but Trump, 78, commuted her sentence in 2018 after Kim Kardashian raised awareness about the case.
From Johnson’s perspective, Savannah, 27, deserves credit for allowing Todd and Julie to experience freedom years before their sentences came to an end.
Alice Marie Johnson Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for ABA“This woman has worked relentlessly for her parents. I know that everyone who is in prison wishes they had an advocate like Savannah,” Johnson said. “I talked to Todd yesterday in the vehicle while he was leaving prison and that man was in tears. We have a new advocate now. You can believe that this couple will be a force to be reckoned with in the criminal justice reform space.”
According to Savannah, the family plans on meeting up in Nashville this week where they will be quick to celebrate milestones they missed while in prison.
“Their 29th wedding anniversary was May 25, so we’re only a few days out from that,” Savannah said to WALA in Florida. “So when they reunite, we’re going to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, Christmases, all the things, because we’re going to make up for lost time.”
As the Chrisley family experiences a whole new reality, cameras were previously already rolling for a new Lifetime series.
The Most Controversial Presidential Pardons Ever — and How They Work
On May 21 — before Trump pardoned Julie and Todd — the network greenlit a new docuseries focused on Savannah and her brother Chase Chrisley.
“This series delivers an unfiltered, deeply personal look at their journey and introduces the real Chrisleys as they navigate this new chapter,” the network stated.
NewsNation Live airs on NewsNation weekdays at 9 a.m. ET.
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