No one was more surprised than Julie Chrisley when she learned she’d received a presidential pardon.
In her first TV interview since her release, the former Chrisley Knows Best star opens up about her reaction when she learned she was going home for good after more than two years behind bars.
“I called Savannah one more time,” Julie tells Lara Trump in the interview, which airs Saturday, June 28, on Fox News. “And she said, he did it, he signed it. And I just started busting out crying.”
Julie Chrisley was ‘so nervous’ after she learned she’d been pardoned
Julie was so stunned by the news that she didn’t quite know how to react.
“And everyone was looking around. And then I just hung up. I was so nervous, I just hung up,” she says. “It was the craziest thing and everybody was just looking at me because unfortunately, most of the news that you get in prison is bad news. You know, so they’re like, are you OK? I’m like, I am. I’m getting out of here. I’m getting out of here.”
Julie’s husband Todd learned that he’d been pardoned by President Trump in a more indirect way.
“This guy stops me and goes, ‘Man, I think you just got pardoned.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, OK.’ And I just kept on walking,” he told the Fox News host, who is married to the president’s son, Eric Trump.
“And so when I went into my dorm, one of the guys, the COs, he came by and he goes, ‘Are you good?’ And I said, ‘As good as I can be.’ And he said, ‘Todd, you just got pardoned. They sent me down here to make sure you’re okay.’ And I said, ‘Well, they don’t need to be worrying about me now. Hell, if I’m pardoned, I’m great.’”
Todd Chrisley thanks God in new interview
In addition to Todd and Julie, their children Savannah Chrisley and Grayson Chrisley will also appear on My View with Lara Trump to discuss the family’s plans moving forward. (They’ve already confirmed their return to TV in a new Lifetime docuseries.)
In 2022, Todd and Julie were convicted on federal fraud and tax evasion charges following a trial where prosecutors presented evidence that they’d obtained $36 million in fraudulent loans from community banks in the Atlanta area while also failing to pay federal income taxes. Todd was sentenced to 12 years in prison; Julie received a seven-year sentence. They have maintained their innocence.
In the upcoming interview, Todd says he’s grateful to God and the president for freeing him and his wife from prison.
“We owe thanks to God… and God touched President Trump’s heart,” he says. “God led the people to advocate for us. And so I’m grateful because every night I would pray that God would return me home to my wife and my children. And he did that, so I’m grateful.”
Lara Trump’s interview with Julie, Todd, Savannah, and Grayson Chrisley airs Saturday, June 28 at 9 p.m. ET during FOX News Channel’s My View with Lara Trump.
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