Savannah Chrisley is desperately throwing her support behind Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the hopes that if he is elected, he will pardon her imprisoned father, Todd Chrisley, confidential sources say.
Todd, 55, and his wife Julie, 51, are serving a total of 19 years behind bars after being convicted by a federal grand jury of bank fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion in 2022. Julie was recently granted a new sentence that could reduce her incarceration.
Savannah, 26, who has campaigned tirelessly for his early release, took her efforts to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this week, using the platform to criticise the prosecution and conviction of her parents, who she says were “persecuted” because of their “public profile and conservative beliefs”.
She compared their alleged unfair treatment to that of Trump during his highly publicized hush-money trial against porn star Stormy Daniels, which sources close to the case say was a calculated ploy to win the former president’s sympathy with the “ultimate goal” of getting him to release his parents.
“Savannah pulled some major strings to get on that stage,” a source told DailyMail.com.
Savannah Chrisley spoke at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday (pictured) and compared her incarcerated reality TV star parents to presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Todd Chrisley, 55, and his wife Julie, 51, were sentenced to a total of 19 years in federal prison for financial crimes, including bank fraud and wire fraud (pictured, Chrisley Knows Best)
Insiders told DailyMail.com that the real reason Savannah spoke at the Republican National Convention is because she hopes to secure a presidential pardon from Trump if he is re-elected in November.
‘Trump didn’t ask her just because she’s a Republican. Yes, she’s a Republican, but she used what was left of her stardom and connections to be able to get up on that stage and give a speech in front of millions of people.
“This was by far her biggest platform. She did it solely to kiss Trump’s ass with one end goal in mind: she wants him to pardon her parents.”
They continued: ‘Savannah knew exactly what she was doing. She realised there was nothing she could do to get Todd out of prison and she is desperate.
“This is a last ditch effort for her. Savannah pulled a lot of strings to get on that stage.”
Savannah opened her speech Tuesday night with her parents’ prison ID numbers, telling the audience: “72600019 and 72601019, they may just be numbers to you, but to me, they are my whole heart.
‘These numbers are my parents’ identification numbers in our federal prison system.’
The reality star turned podcast host went on to call the American justice system “two-faced,” while accusing it of targeting “Christians and conservatives who the government has labeled as extremists or even worse.”
She also recalled how an “Obama-appointed judge” in Fulton County, Georgia, had called her parents “the Trumps of the South,” seemingly intended as an insult but which she considers a “badge of honor.”
The source said the story, which baffled his family members, was a calculated ploy to drum up sympathy from the presidential candidate for his jailed parents.
“Savannah knew exactly what she was doing. She realized there was nothing she could do to get Todd out of jail and she’s desperate,” the source said.
Todd (with wife Julie at the 2017 Country Music Awards) has criticized Trump in the past and once referred to himself as “liberal” about his social views but financially “conservative.”
Trump was charged with felonies in the county in connection with efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state.
This came months before he was convicted in New York state on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to attempts to conceal payments to porn star Stormy Daniels earlier this year.
“Attacking the Fulton County prosecutor, the same county in which Trump faces racketeering charges, was not a coincidence,” the source said. “It was a calculated move.”
She said prosecutors called her family the “Trumps of the South,” but those close to her were shocked to hear this and feel it could have been fabricated to draw another comparison between her father and Trump.
“The difference is that Todd and Julie were convicted and sentenced. A grand jury found them guilty based on a mountain of evidence. And they were nowhere near as wealthy as the Trump family.”
Savannah ended her speech by stating that Trump’s only conviction is to “make America great again.”
“Donald J. Trump has one conviction that matters, and that is the conviction to Make America Great Again,” he said.
Savannah has continued to fight for her parents’ release since they were found guilty in July 2022 of conspiring to defraud community banks of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans.
Savannah lashed out at prosecutors as Republican candidate Trump faces four criminal charges. “She also said people call her family the ‘Trumps of the South'” (seen at the Republican National Convention)
“The difference is that Todd and Julie were convicted and sentenced. A grand jury found them guilty based on a mountain of evidence,” the source said of the comparison.
Many of Savannah’s comments referred to cases that have angered former President Trump (pictured), including officials in Fulton County, where Trump faces extortion charges.
The reality TV couple were also found guilty of tax evasion by hiding their earnings while displaying an extravagant lifestyle, and will both go to prison in January 2023.
Their sentences were reduced in September: Julie received five and a half years in the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, while Todd received 10 years in a federal prison in Pensacola.
In June, Julie’s prison sentence for tax evasion was dramatically overturned.
She was initially held responsible for the fraud scheme dating back to 2006.
But it was ruled that there was no evidence of her involvement before 2007, partially exonerating her of the conspiracy.
Julie’s case will now return to a lower court for resentencing, giving her the opportunity to receive a potentially reduced prison sentence for what the appeals panel called a “narrow issue.”
In a recent episode of her podcast, Unlocked, Savannah admitted that visiting her parents in prison is “really hard.”
In December, Todd described “devastating” prison conditions, called the food “filthy” and claimed guards were targeting him for his privileged lifestyle.
In an interview with Chris Cuomo last month, Savannah claimed her father is now facing brutal “retaliation” for speaking out.
“Yes, the retaliation has gotten much worse,” he said. “They are trying to do it, they are retaliating against friends of theirs, just hoping that they will turn against my father for some strange reason, but that is not stopping us.”
He also said the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and the Office of Internal Affairs (OIA) “are currently investigating” Todd’s situation.
“That’s why I’m grateful and I hope everything becomes clear,” she stressed.
While Savannah has been open about her father’s horrific prison conditions, she has not been as open about her political beliefs until now.
However, Savannah and her father have criticized Trump in the past.
Todd, who has previously described himself as “conservative” on money but with “liberal views,” said the United States was “in a hopeless bind” in 2016 when Trump was in a race against Hillary Clinton for the White House.
Savannah called Trump and President Joe Biden “liars” in a quickly deleted Instagram post in April 2020.
Todd and Julie rose to fame thanks to their American reality show Chrisley Knows Best, which premiered in 2014 and documented their daily lives with their children.
It continued for nine seasons and was cancelled following his convictions.
Todd is also father to daughter Lindsie, 34, and son Kyle, 32, whose mother is Todd’s first wife, Theresa Terry.
After marrying Julie, the two had daughters Savannah, Chase, 27, and Grayson, 17.
