Todd Chrisley claimed he was innocent Friday of the crimes he was convicted and ultimately pardoned for.
The reality TV star held a press conference at the Kimpton Aertson Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, per NBC News.
“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,” Todd Chrisley said. “It could be you. It could be you, it could be any of you. And somewhere in this room, someone has had a family member that has been affected by the system.”
“I understand the shame that’s around it, but I refuse to feed into that because shame is like a cancer that just spreads and I have no shame,” Todd Chrisley added.
He and his wife, Julie Chrisley, were pardoned by President Donald Trump. The were convicted in 2022 of tax evasion and defrauding banks to obtain personal loans worth more than $36 million. They were known for their roles on “Chrisley Knows Best” where their opulent lifestyle was on display.
Todd Chrisley was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison; Julie Chrisley was sentenced to seven years.
Julie was not at Friday’s press conference on Friday.
Todd Chrisley took umbrage when asked if he was remorseful.
“You’re placed in a position as a defendant to either bow down and kiss the ass of the Department of Justice and accept responsibility for things that you did not do in order to avoid a stronger sentence,” he said.
He said he was “numb” when told he was being pardoned.
“I had a staff member that came to me and said ‘you’ve just been pardoned.’ And I just looked at him, and he says, ‘No, really, you’ve been pardoned. It’s in the news. And so I walked up to call her, and she said ‘It’s true. It’s true,'” he said, referring to his daughter, Savannah.
“All I could think about was the guys that I was leaving behind,” he added. “They were saying ‘Don’t leave. Don’t forget us. Don’t forget us.’ And my commitment is to them that I will never forget them.”
