Trump Grants Pardon to Former Tennessee Senator Brian Kelsey

Former President Donald Trump granted a pardon to Brian Kelsey, just 15 days after the Republican began serving a 21-month sentence for campaign finance conspiracy charges.

“God used Donald Trump to rescue me,” Kelsey, 47, shared in a phone interview with CNBC on Wednesday, a day after being released from a federal prison camp in Ashland, Kentucky.

“His election saved me from the Biden” Department of Justice, Kelsey stated.

Kelsey, an attorney residing in Germantown, Tennessee, revealed that Trump provided him with “a full and unconditional pardon” via a tweet on the social media platform X.

He mentioned that three Tennessee GOP congressmen—Mark Green, Andy Ogles, and Chuck Fleischmann—played a role in securing his pardon. CNBC has sought comments from these lawmakers.

Kelsey expressed gratitude, saying, “Many friends and family have offered prayers and support on my behalf.”

Neither the White House nor the DOJ has commented on Kelsey’s pardon or the rationale behind it. CNBC has reached out to both for remarks.

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons confirmed to CNBC that Kelsey was released from the Ashland facility on Tuesday due to the pardon.

Presidential pardons eliminate a person’s criminal convictions and any associated sentences.

Kelsey began his sentence at the Ashland prison camp on February 24, shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in his case and about a month after he applied for a pardon.

He expressed surprise at having to report to prison, stating, “I always believed that God would provide a miracle, and He has delivered so many already.”

Kelsey pleaded guilty in November 2022 to charges related to transferring funds from his state senatorial campaign account to his ultimately unsuccessful 2016 congressional campaign.

He later attempted to rescind his guilty plea but was unsuccessful. However, he remained free for nearly two years while his case was on appeal.

On Tuesday afternoon, Kelsey recounted that while he was exercising with other inmates, “just doing burpees,” the assistant warden called his name, and informed him of the presidential pardon.

When asked about his plans, Kelsey responded, “I’m taking the day to express my gratitude to President Trump and others who supported me, and to spend time with my wife and kids.” Kelsey has twin two-year-old boys and a five-year-old daughter.

On his first day back in the White House on January 20, Trump pardoned approximately 1,500 individuals charged or convicted of crimes related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot instigated by his supporters.

Since then, Trump has also pardoned Ross Ulbricht, who was serving a life sentence for crimes tied to his dark web marketplace Silk Road, and former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who had previously served eight years for trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat after he became president.

However, it’s quite rare for an individual to receive a pardon or commutation this early into their prison sentence, as Kelsey did.

Elizabeth Oyer, the former top pardon attorney at the DOJ, stated that she was fired last Friday after opposing the restoration of gun rights to actor Mel Gibson, a Trump backer who lost those rights following a 2011 domestic violence misdemeanor conviction.

On Tuesday, NBC News reported that the Trump administration was dismantling the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section, which is responsible for prosecuting public officials accused of corruption.

This section was involved in Kelsey’s prosecution.

Kelsey claimed he was singled out by the “weaponized Biden DOJ.”

“Their true target in my case was to take down Matt Schlapp and the American Conservative Union,” Kelsey asserted.

Schlapp is a Trump supporter and chair of the ACU, which organizes the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

“They proposed a deal in exchange for my testimony against Matt Schlapp and others at the ACU, threatening me with a baseless prosecution if I refused,” Kelsey said.

“I maintained that I did nothing wrong, nor did anyone else at the ACU, which led to them filing charges,” he explained.

Schlapp has not faced any criminal charges from the DOJ.

In response to CNBC’s inquiry about Schlapp, a representative for CPAC stated that the organization “fully supports President Trump utilizing his clemency powers to rectify politicized prosecutions of the past.”

“We are especially pleased that former Tennessee Senator Brian Kelsey received a pardon yesterday,” the representative noted. “Neither CPAC nor Matt Schlapp were ever targets of this investigation. Two employees at that time were investigated over several years but were not charged or convicted.”

“We continue to believe that under President Joe Biden, the DOJ was weaponized against political opponents, resulting in far more prosecutions of Republicans than of Democrats,” the statement continued.

“Owing to the politicization of the DOJ, President Trump and many of his allies, including CPAC, expended millions defending against a politically motivated prosecution. We seek full financial restitution for those who were compelled to spend vast sums countering such investigations. We wish Brian Kelsey and his family the best as they close this painful chapter of their lives.”