Todd Chrisley breaks cover after boasting about jailhouse glow up for surprise first stop after Trump pardon

Todd Chrisley has been seen in public for the first time following his release from prison, having received a controversial pardon from President Donald Trump.

The Chrisley Knows Best star, aged 56, revealed his toned physique while out shopping at a Nordstrom store in Nashville, Tennessee, alongside his daughter Savannah Chrisley. The outing took place on Thursday and was reported by Fox News Digital.

The previous day, Todd and his wife Julie Chrisley regained their freedom after being granted ‘a full, unconditional pardon’ by President Trump. The pardon came in the wake of their 2022 conviction on federal bank fraud and tax evasion charges.

The outing came the same day that the 27-year-old reality star — who was unmissable in pink ‘MAGA Barbie’ attire the day before when her parents’ pardon was announced — was spotted at their home in Nashville as family members arrived for a celebration to welcome home her formerly incarcerated parents.

Savannah and her father couldn’t contain their laughter in a video she shared to Instagram later in the afternoon showing Todd bizarrely covering his head with a shopping back to try to stay undercover.

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Earlier, Julie showed off a shocking transformation when she was first spotted after being freed from prison as she dropped by a butcher shop.

Julie, who had been serving a seven-year sentence before her pardon, revealed a surprising head of gray hair with a wash of brown at the ends when she was seen exiting a butcher shop in Nashville.

As hair dye isn’t allowed in prison, her gray roots had been growing out, even though she previously displayed a perfectly dyed head of blond hair before her incarceration.

Todd appeared to be in a particularly spicy mood in Savannah’s Instagram video, which documented their comical attempt to escape the Nordstrom store.

‘You b****es are not paying your bills for me,’ he said in a mock sinister tone while facing the camera. 

He seemed more concerned with keep others from spotting who he was, as the tall shopping bag that he wore over his head didn’t exactly lend him a low profile. 

‘I’m not giving them hoes a picture!’ he added sassily. 

Savannah held his hand and guided him into an elevator going to the parking garage so that he didn’t crash into anything with the bag obscuring his view. 

‘He looks like he hasn’t aged a day,’ she said of her father’s prison transformation.

‘It’s called the BOP [Bureau of Prisons] glow!’ he joked for the camera. 

Todd added, ‘Julie’s at home. That b**** is smarter than I am!’ 

He joked that the ‘poor people at Nordstrom’ had helped him ‘escape’ the store.

‘They should have been there 28 months ago!’ he added, referencing his time behind bars. 

While he appeared to be jubilant about his controversial pardon, one person was particularly unenthused — the third person convicted in the case with Todd and Julie.

President Trump notably did not bother to pardon their former accountant Peter Tarantino, who had been sentenced to three years in prison and was released in November 2024 after serving 18 months behind bars.

Tarantino told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he was ‘collateral damage’ in Todd and Julie’s case and was a victim of ‘basically guilt by association,’ as he claims he was unaware that they were committing crimes.

He’s currently on parole, and he said plans to petition the president for his own pardon.

‘I would like to have my voting rights reinstated and pursue getting my license restored,’ he said. ‘I think that the prosecution was overly aggressive in charging me.’

Tarantino said he hadn’t already done so because he doesn’t have the funds to do so, and he also doesn’t have the fame and connections that the Chrisleys were able to use to get Trump’s ear.

Tarantino’s wife Cathie was even more forceful in her denunciation of the Chrisleys. 

‘They don’t deserve a pardon,’ she said. ‘They were convicted because they were guilty.’

She added that Todd and Julie were ‘not what they seem,’ and she shared plans to release a ‘tell-all’ book later this year that would allegedly reveal damning new details about the couple and their conviction. 

As family members began arriving at the family home, Savannah was spotted out in the garage.

She looked far more casual than she had to welcome her parents home, and she favored a black miniskirt that highlighted her tanned and toned legs, with a license plate design over one thigh reading, ‘BOYS LIE.’

The podcaster wore a long sleeve cropped top over it revealing her trim midriff, along with flip flops and her read MAGA hat.

Other guests were spotted arriving on the family’s long driveway, and some were seen taking care of supplies for the reunion celebration in the garage with Savannah. 

She was spotted out side the home at one point chatting with one of her family’s guests.

Julie and Todd, 56, who starred in Chrisley Knows Best and several spin-offs, were found guilty of defrauding banks out of $30 million in 2022.

Julie had been serving her seven-year prison sentence in Kentucky, while Todd, 56, was serving his 12-year sentence in Florida. 

Early Wednesday evening, Todd was released from Federal Prison Camp Pensacola while Julie was set free from FMC Lexington, according to Fox5.

The pair’s elated daughter Savannah, 27, spoke to the press outside his Florida prison after campaigning for years for their release.

While dressed in bright pink ‘MAGA Barbie’ attire, she lauded President Trump, who personally called her on Tuesday to inform her of his decision to give her parents ‘a full, unconditional pardon.’

After a nearly three-week jury trial, Todd and Julie were convicted in June 2022 of conspiring to defraud banks in the Atlanta, Georgia area out of more than $30 million in personal loans by submitting false documents.

They were also found guilty of wire fraud and tax evasion, obscuring their earnings while showcasing a luxurious lifestyle with expensive cars and designer clothes.

Wearing a hot pink MAGA hat, Savannah said she is ‘so grateful that I’m going to leave here with my dad’ after an ‘insane’ three years of her trying to get him and Julie freed.

She confirmed that her brother Grayson Chrisley would be the one picking up their mother from her Kentucky prison facility.

‘President Trump signed the pardons at around 3pm this afternoon and it’s all due to President Trump, Alice Johnson, Ed Martin, all of them,’ she told the crowd. 

‘They have truly just shown up and looked at [Todd and Julie’s] case with a fine-tooth comb and they’ve seen the corruption.’

After her call with Trump, Savannah said she arrived at her dad’s prison in Pensacola at 2 in the morning on Wednesday and has been waiting there since.

‘I have not gone to sleep. I did not bring any clothes with me. I did not bring a toothbrush with me. I brought absolutely nothing with me,’ she revealed with a laugh. 

‘I’m just a daughter that wants to take my dad home with me.’

When asked what Todd and Julie’s reactions were to Trump’s pardon, Savannah said that he was initially in total disbelief.

‘They didn’t believe it. [The pardon] literally came out of nowhere. As I said before, I was walking into the grocery store when I got the call from the president,’ she explained.

‘I was just in such shock and such awe that the president himself called me and took the time to let me know that my family’s coming back together.’

Savannah said that her and Trump’s entire correspondence was captured ‘on video’ and that he had called to let her know that he was ‘reuniting [her] family.’

She also said that Trump and her younger brother Grayson Chrisley, 19, spoke briefly ‘about the University of Alabama where President Trump just gave the commencement speech.’

Grayson is currently a sophomore at the university located in Tuscaloosa.

‘So, it was absolutely amazing. It truly was just a human to human interaction and yes, he is our president but he’s also a person with a heart and who loves people well,’ Savannah gushed.

‘Over the last 24 hours, I’ve gotten so much love and so much hate. And I’ve had people say, ‘Hmmm, I wonder what she had to do to get this pardon?’ I didn’t have to do anything.

‘I didn’t have to do anything other than stand firm in my beliefs and my convictions and fight for my parents and fight for what was right.’

Savannah went on to declare that President Trump has given all of the American people ‘hope and a brighter future’ since stepping into office — not just her family.

‘People like to say [Trump’s] for the wealthy, for people who have campaigned for him [but] he has truly given everyone a chance at a better life and for that I will forever be grateful.’ 

Savannah confirmed that her and her family, including Todd and Julie, will soon be returning to TV with a new reality show.

‘We have a new show coming out on Lifetime and it will document all of these things and we’re excited.’

According to TMZ, production has already started on the Chrisley’s new show and a camera crew followed both Savannah and Grayson as they traveled to pick up their parents from prison.

The couple’s shock release, according to production sources, is set to be a major storyline on the show and that Todd and Julie’s respective releases were captured on camera.

However, the sources claimed that Trump’s unexpected phone call to Savannah on Tuesday was not captured by Lifetimes’ camera crew.

The original plan for the family’s new show was to feature cameos from Todd and Julia via prison phone calls while much of the storyline would center on how Savannah and her older brother Chase Chrisley are holding down the family while their parents are locked away. 

Savannah concluded Wednesday’s press conference by shouting out both ‘God and President Trump’ again for bringing her family back together. 

Hours later, Savannah shared a photo of herself outside her dad’s prison to Instagram with a lengthy caption about ‘fighting for her family.’

‘This is from the press conference outside my father’s prison today… That smile on my face? I haven’t seen it in years. It’s the smile of a daughter who refused to give up. A woman who cried in silence, broke down in court bathrooms, and kept showing up even when the world told her to sit down,’ the star penned to her 2.9million followers.

She continued:  Behind that smile is exhaustion. Trauma. A million sleepless nights. But also… fire. Conviction. Faith.

‘I’m the product of a pissed off daughter and a relentless woman. And trust me when I say…there is nothing more dangerous than a woman fighting for her family.’

Savannah offered more thanks to President Trump and his administration while commending herself for keeping her ‘promise’ to her parents to ‘bring them home.’  

‘I stood by my parents and vowed that I would get them home… I kept that promise. By the grace of God, the courage of President Trump, the compassion of Alice Johnson, the integrity of Ed Martin, and the strength of the Trump administration—we did the impossible,’ she wrote.

‘This fight was never just about us. It’s about every family torn apart by injustice. Every parent, every child, every person who’s been silenced or shattered by a system that too often forgets the humanity behind the headlines.

‘Let this be your reminder: Keep fighting. Cry if you need to. Break down if you must. But don’t you dare stop believing. Your voice matters. Your story matters. And when women rise, mountains move.’

To conclude her post, Savannah teased that ‘we’re just getting started.’ She included the hashtags ‘#Freedom #JusticeForAll #Pardoned #Trump2025 #FaithOverFear.’

Later, she uploaded a brief video to her Instagram Story revealing that she had thrown up on the ride back home to Nashville with dad Todd.

Todd could be heard laughing in the background as his daughter held a plastic bag under her chin.

‘Guys I puked the whole way,’ said Savannah, while still wearing her pink MAGA cap.

While Savannah didn’t pan the camera to show him, Todd continued to laugh offscreen as he remarked he could ‘smell’ her vomit.

After Savannah told him to just ‘spray perfume’ in the car, Todd quipped: ‘I didn’t have to deal with this in prison!’

White House aide Margo Martin revealed the pardon on Tuesday by posting video of the president on the phone with Savannah, captioning the post: ‘Trump Knows Best!’ a play on the couple’s breakout reality TV show title. 

While pushing for a pardon for her parents over the last two and a half years, Savannah has become a fixture in MAGAworld.

She attended the 2024 Republican National Convention and the 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference – both events where Trump was the headliner and aides and allies were everywhere.

She appeared on the sidelines of last month’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

The effort paid off when Savannah received the call from the Oval Office on Tuesday.

‘That’s a terrible thing, that’s a terrible thing,’ Trump told Savannah over the phone. ‘But it’s a great thing because your parents are going to be free and clean and I hope we can do it by tomorrow, is that OK?’

Julie was supposed to serve time at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky until January 2028.

Todd’s prison sentence kept him locked away at FPC Pensacola until April 2032, according to the Palm Beach Post.

‘I don’t know them, but them give my regards,’ Trump also said. ‘Wish them a good life.’

Savannah can be heard on the phone thanking the president and telling him her brother Grayson was on the line too.

Grayson piped up, ‘Mr. President, I just want to say thank you for bringing my parents back.’

‘Yeah, well, they were given a pretty harsh treatment from what I’m hearing,’ Trump said.

Savannah revealed more details about her call with Trump while appearing on NewsNation’s On Balance with Leland Vittert on Tuesday.

She said that Trump told her how he believed her parents were ‘treated unfairly’ and that he ‘wanted to give them a full pardon.’

‘He was like, you know, ‘You guys don’t look like terrorists to me.’ His exact words, which was pretty funny,’ she added.

Savannah first reacted to the pardon news via Instagram on Tuesday in a lengthy clip after a video snippet of their call was shared by White House aide Margo Martin.

‘President Trump didn’t just commute their sentences, he gave them a full, unconditional pardon. So for that I am forever grateful. Thank you, President Trump,’ she told fans. 

Savannah then vowed to ‘stand next to [Trump] and [his] administration and to stand up to the corruption and to continue fighting for the men and women that are in prison.

‘I will repay your kindness to every person that I meet, so thank God for a president like Donald J. Trump,’ she said.

The Chrisleys’ attorney, Alex Little, said Trump’s pardon ‘corrects a deep injustice and restores two devoted parents to their family and community’.

‘President Trump recognized what we’ve argued from the beginning: Todd and Julie were targeted because of their conservative values and high profile,’ Little said in a statement.

‘Their prosecution was tainted by multiple constitutional violations and political bias.’

Little’s statement added: ‘Todd and Julie’s case is exactly why the pardon power exists. Thanks to President Trump, the Chrisley family can now begin healing and rebuilding their lives.’

However, the couple’s shock pardon was met with intense backlash online, with many proclaiming there is ‘no justice anymore.’ 

On Reddit, one simply wrote: ‘What a world this is?’  

‘You can scam millions, evade taxes, and still walk free, just smile for the cameras and wait for a pardon,’ another said.

Echoing a similar sentiment, a third added: ‘There is no justice anymore.’

‘It’s great that they defrauded a bank out of millions of dollars and lied on their taxes and now they will have no consequences!’ another continued.

‘Reality TV grifters have to stick together!’ joked a sixth.

Another asked: ‘How do Republicans/MAGA justify this and sleep at night knowing they are supporting the pardoning of fraudsters?’

Fellow reality television star Joe Exotic was also among those who were angered by the pardon.

Joe is currently serving a 21-year sentence at FMC Forth Worth Federal Medical Center in Texas for conspiracy to commit murder-for hire.

He has been fighting for a pardon for the past five years.

He shared a screenshot of a PEOPLE article announcing the Chrisleys’ pardon on Tuesday with the caption: ‘This officially shows the Justice system is still two sided. You are either rich and connected or your poor and being trafficked by the system.’

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, he said: ‘I have never been more disappointed in my life that President Trump is pardoning all of these people that have actually committed crimes and yet he leaves me here.’

He added: ‘I sit here innocent with two forms of cancer and can’t get his attention.’

However, Joe publicly congratulated the Chrisley family on Wednesday as he left a comment on Savannah’s latest Instagram post.

‘Congratulations. Hope I am next. But we have to expose the inside of here,’ he wrote.

Along with Todd and Julie Chrisley, Trump also used his pardoning power on several other individuals this week.

On Wednesday, former New York City congressman Michael Grimm had his 2014 tax fraud conviction forgiven.

Grimm, who represented Staten Island, served seven months in jail and carried out 200 hours of community service for the offense.

He won reelection in 2014 despite being under indictment for underreporting wages and revenue at a restaurant he ran. However, he resigned the following year after pleading guilty.

Grimm, who notoriously threatened to throw a reporter off a balcony during the 2014 State of the Union, was previously accused of having sex in the bathroom of a bar after spending more than 15 minutes locked away with a female friend.

Last year he was paralyzed from the chest down when he was thrown off a horse during a polo tournament.

Former NYC Council Member, Vincent Ignizio, started a GoFundMe for Grimm, asking for $2.5million in donations to pay for treatment to help him ‘walk again.’

The president also pardoned a labor union leader who pleaded guilty to failing to report gifts from an advertising firm.

James Callahan, of Lindenhurst, New York, was general president of the International Union of Operating Engineers when he accepted – but failed to properly report – receiving at least $315,000 in tickets to sporting events and concerts and other amenities from a company that the union used to place ads.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes was scheduled to sentence Callahan on Wednesday. On Tuesday, however, Callahan’s attorneys notified the court of Trump’s ‘full and unconditional’ pardon and asked for the sentencing hearing to be vacated.

Earlier this month, prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of six months for Callahan, calling him ‘one of the most powerful union leaders in the country.’

They said Callahan’s salary and other compensation topped $500,000 annually. Now retired and living in Florida, he has a net worth of more than $5 million, according to prosecutors.

Meanwhile, ex-Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover has had his sentence commuted.

Hoover has been serving multiple life sentences for murder and running a criminal enterprise.

He made his first court appearance in decades in September in an effort to win early release, reported the Chicago Tribune.

Hoover was already serving a 200-year state sentence for the murder of a rival when he was indicted in federal court in 1995.

He was charged with continuing to oversee his murderous drug gang from prison and was convicted in 1997 then sentencing to life in prison.

Trump also said Wednesday that he’s considering pardons for the men who plotted to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

‘I’m going to look at it. I will take a look at it. It’s been brought to my attention,’ he said in the Oval Office on Wednesday. ‘I did watch the trial. It looked to me like somewhat of a railroad job, I’ll be honest with you.’

‘It looked to me like some people said some stupid things. You know, they were drinking, and I think they said stupid things,’ he added.

Trump claimed there was bipartisan support for the pardon.

‘A lot of people are asking me that question from both sides actually,’ he said. ‘A lot of people think they got railroaded. A lot of people think they got railroaded.’

In 2020, during Trump’s first term, federal prosecutors charged six people with conspiring to kidnap Whitmer.

On Monday, Trump pardoned a former Virginia sheriff who was to serve time for a cash-for-badges scheme.

The sheriff, Scott Jenkins, had been a Trump supporter, visiting the White House during the president’s first term and was utilized as a surrogate in Virginia on the campaign trail.

‘This Sheriff is a victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice, and doesn’t deserve to spend a single day in jail,’ Trump posted to Truth Social Monday afternoon.

Late last month, Trump pardoned Paul Walczak, who pointed out that his mother had raised millions for the Trump campaigns on his pardon application.

Walczak pleaded guilty of tax crimes days before the 2024 election and filed a pardon application shortly after inauguration.

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