Julie Chrisley is speaking out for the first time since she and husband Todd Chrisley were released from prison.
In a preview for the Saturday, June 28, episode of My View With Lara Trump. in which the couple will sit down with daughter Savannah Chrisley and son Grayson Chrisley for their first TV interview, Julie, 52, recalled the moment she found out President Donald Trump had pardoned her and her husband.
“I call my [my daughter] Savannah one more time and she said, ‘He did it! He signed it!’ And I just started busting out crying,” Julie told host Lara Trump. “And then I just hung up. I was so nervous I just hung up. It was the craziest thing because unforutnatley, most of the news that you get in prison is bad news. So they’re like, ‘Are you OK?’ And I’m like, ‘I am! I think I’m getting out of here!’”
Todd, 56, also shared the moment he realized he was being released, explaining that he didn’t believe a fellow inmate who tried to tell him about the pardon. “So I went into my dorm and one of the CO’s came i and he goes, ‘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 see if you were OK.’ And I said, ‘Well hell if I’m pardoned they don’t have to be worried about me, I’m great!’
In May, Todd, 56, and Julie, 52, were pardoned by President Donald Trump after being convicted of 12 counts of tax evasion, bank and wire fraud and conspiracy in June 2022. Todd was originally sentenced to 12 years in prison, while Julie received a sentence of seven years. The couple — who alleged they were innocent of any crimes — had been behind bars since January 2023.
“It’s a terrible thing but it’s a great thing, because your parents are going to be free and clean,” Donald told Savannah, 27, during a phone call shared via X. “I hope we can do it by tomorrow. I don’t know them, but give them my regards. Wish them a good life.”
The president also claimed that Todd and Julie received “pretty harsh treatment,” adding, “Congratulate your parents. I hear they’re terrific people. This should not have happened. … They have good children. You’re no longer children, but I’ll say it anyway. They have good children, don’t they?”
On May 28, Todd and Julie’s lawyers confirmed in statements to Us Weekly that the pair had been officially released from prison and were on their way home to Nashville. The following day, Savannah shared her parents’ reunion via her Instagram Story.
Savannah Chrisley has never given up hope for her parents Todd and Julie Chrisley’s freedom after their respective prison sentences. “In my mind, I’m like, ‘I can’t move on with my life,’” Savannah said on a December 2022 episode of her “Unlocked” podcast. “Until I know that they’re going to be there, I can’t get […]
Shortly after his release, Todd maintained his innocence in a press conference, which Julie did not participate in. (Todd told reporters she was home with their adopted daughter, Chloe.)
“Even though this pardon has happened, I still was convicted of something that I did not do. It could be you. It could be any of you,” he said.
When asked whether he had any remorse surrounding the case, he replied, “I would have remorse if it was something that I did.”