BURSTTodd Chrisley, who along with his wife Julie, received a pardon from President Trump earlier this week after being convicted of bank fraud and tax evasion charges, said during a Friday press conference he will continue fighting “injustices” at the Bureau of Prisons.
“I have met some wonderful men. I have listened to some horrific stories about things that have gone on in our system. And whether you believe it or not, because I was you at some point, even though this pardon has happened, I still was convicted of something that I did not do. It could be you,” Todd Chrisley told reporters on Friday, in his first address since his Wednesday release.
Chrisley later added that he 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."
Chrisley, who spent over two years behind bars, thanked Trump and his pardon czar Alice Johnson for the pardon, along with his wife Julie.
The couple was convicted of several counts of financial fraud and two counts of tax evasion in 2022. Prosecutors said the two conspired to defraud banks in the Atlanta area in the tune of over $30 million in loans by filing false documents.
Todd Chrisley began his 12-year prison sentence in January 2023, while Julie got seven years behind bars. The couple were stars of the “Chrisley Knows Best” reality TV show that lasted for 10 seasons, from 2014 to 2023. It aired on USA Network.
Todd Chrisley detailed his time in prison, saying that behind bars, individuals are treated differently based on their race.
"Being in the prison system, anyone that says that it's a fair shake, it's not because I dealt with young African American males in the prison that I was in that were not treated the same. They were denied programming,” he said on Friday. “They were denied access to certain things. I was not denied that, but we know why I wasn't denied that.”
“And so I think that is a much bigger picture that we all as a society, as a whole, need to look at, that we are one and whether you're Republican, Democrat or whatever, at the end of the day when you're in that hospital, you don't care if it's a Democrat treating you or Republican,” the former reality TV star added. “Now some of you may, but I want whoever's going to be the best person to do that.”