NEWS'I Just Hung Up': Julie Chrisley Says She 'Busted Out Crying' After Learning About Donald Trump's Pardon
Julie Chrisley cried after learning Donald Trump signed her pardon.
Julie Chrisley is finally speaking out after her release from prison.
The Chrisley Knows Best star is set to make her first TV appearance since being pardoned by Donald Trump, sitting down for a tell-all interview with Lara Trump on FOX News Channel's My View.
In a preview of the conversation, Julie, who was in a federal prison in Lexington, Ky., at the time, recalled how overwhelming the news was.
Julie Chrisley cried when she learned Donald Trump signed her pardon.
“I called Savannah [Chrisley] one more time. And she said, he did it, he signed it. And I just started busting out crying,” she said, reflecting on the emotional conversation with her daughter.
“And everyone was looking around. And then I just hung up. I was so nervous, I just hung up,” Julie continued. “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 and her husband, Todd Chrisley, were both sentenced to prison in 2022 after being convicted of tax and bank fraud. Todd was given 12 years, while Julie received seven. They started serving their sentences on January 17, 2023, but their appeals were denied before Donald stepped in.
Todd Chrisley found out about his pardon from another inmate.
Todd, who was serving time at a federal prison in Pensacola, Fl., also shared what happened on his end once the pardon was announced.
“This guy stops me and goes, ‘Man, I think you just got pardoned.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, okay.’ And I just kept on walking,” Todd recalled. “Then I went into my dorm, and one of the COs came by and 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. H---, if I’m pardoned, I’m great.'"
- Everything to Know About Todd and Julie Chrisley's Prison Release After Being Pardoned by Donald Trump
- Todd Chrisley Defends Donald Trump Against 'S---' Talkers: 'Don't Start Coming Begging for a Pardon!'
- Todd Chrisley Declares He's Innocent in First Post-Prison Interview: 'I Was Convicted of Something I Didn't Do'
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Todd Chrisley later defended Donald Trump on Savannah Chrisley’s podcast.
"We owe thanks to God… and God touched President Trump's heart. 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," he added.
As OK! previously reported, Donald told the couple’s children in advance that he planned to help.
“Your parents are going to be free and clean and I hope we can do it by tomorrow,” he said in a video posted by White House aide Margo Martin.
He added, “They were given a pretty harsh treatment, based on what I’m hearing, pretty harsh treatment.”
The couple had been serving time for tax and bank fraud since January 2023.
Now, it seems like the Chrisleys are firmly in the president's corner.
On his daughter Savannah’s podcast "Unlocked," Todd defended Donald from critics.
“This group of Democrats yesterday, they posted a thing about our pardon,” he explained. “And they said, ‘Dear Mr. President, can you help so and so?’ And I went back and said, ‘Who’d you vote for?’ Don’t start coming begging for a pardon now when you… ran him in the ground, talked all this mad s---.”
Still, Todd made it clear he’s not against the concept of jail itself.
“I believe in prison,” he said. “I’m not sitting here saying to abolish prisons. Yes, but at the end of the day, we incarcerate more individuals in the United States of America than any other country in the world.”
