Reality TV star Savannah Chrisley spoke onstage during the second day of the Republican National Convention on Tuesday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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Reality TV star Savannah Chrisley has questioned the fairness of the federal justice system, citing the imprisonment of her real estate mogul parents.
“You may have seen my family on TV, but over the last decade we’ve been embroiled in a different kind of drama,” she said at the Republican National Convention Tuesday night, during a segment on safety, including criminal justice.
Her comments echo those of Trump, who has accused prosecutors of prosecuting him for political reasons and has vowed to restructure the Justice Department if re-elected. Trump faces a number of lawsuits, including a criminal indictment in Fulton County, Georgia, over election interference.
“My family was persecuted by a corrupt Fulton County prosecutor because of our social standing and conservative beliefs. Fulton County knows how to do that, you know? Because of our social standing and conservative beliefs,” Chrisley continued.
Chrisley is Chrisley knows besta USA Network show about her wealthy Southern family that aired until 2023, focused primarily on her parents, real estate mogul Todd Chrisley and his wife, Julie.
Her parents were deceived by a dishonest business partner and then cooperated with federal authorities, she said.
According to the Associated Press, a jury found the couple guilty of conspiring to defraud area banks of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans by submitting false documents. Todd and Julie were ordered to pay millions in restitution and were sentenced to 12 and seven years in prison, respectively. They began serving their sentences in January 2023.
“I’ll never forget what a prosecutor said in front of a judge appointed by President Obama in the most Democratic county in the state,” she said Tuesday. “He called us the Trumps of the South.”
“He meant it as an insult, but I can honestly say that I wear it as a badge of honour,” she added, drawing cheers from the convention audience.
She said federal prosecutors have targeted President Trump for his political positions while giving leniency to President Biden’s son, Hunter. She also criticized the four-month prison sentence given to Steve Bannon, Trump’s former White House aide, for refusing to comply with a congressional investigation.
Trump himself was convicted by a jury of falsifying records to conceal hush money payments.
“Donald J. Trump has one belief that matters,” Chrisley said, “and that is the belief in making America great again.”
Todd and Julie Chrisley’s sentences were later reduced to 10 years and five years, respectively, and Julie’s sentence was sent back to a lower court for reconsideration in June.
Rachel Treisman contributed reporting.
