President Donald Trump has issued a pardon to former Tennessee State Senator Brian Kelsey, who had been serving a federal sentence for his role in a campaign finance conspiracy. Kelsey began his 21-month sentence at a Kentucky prison on February 24, but just 15 days later, he walked free due to the presidential pardon. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons confirmed his release from the Ashland prison camp on Tuesday.
Kelsey’s legal troubles began in November 2022 when he pleaded guilty to federal charges related to transferring money from his state senatorial campaign account to his 2016 congressional campaign. Despite efforts to withdraw his guilty plea, he was unsuccessful, leading to his incarceration earlier this year. Kelsey, however, has voiced his belief that he was unjustly targeted by what he termed a "weaponized Biden DOJ," suggesting that the investigation aimed to implicate Matt Schlapp and the American Conservative Union (ACU).
"They offered to cut me a deal if I would testify against Matt Schlapp and others at the ACU, and threatened me with a frivolous prosecution if I did not," Kelsey stated.
"I told them I did nothing wrong, and neither did anyone else at the ACU, and that's when they brought charges," he added.
The Public Integrity Section oversaw Kelsey's prosecution. Despite his claims, a CPAC spokeswoman refuted any suggestion that Schlapp or CPAC were targets of the investigation.
"Neither CPAC nor Matt Schlapp were ever a target of this investigation. Two people employed at the time were thoroughly investigated over years and not charged or convicted," the spokeswoman clarified.
Kelsey's pardon announcement appeared on social media platform X, made by Kelsey himself. The White House and the Department of Justice have yet to issue any statements regarding the pardon or the rationale behind it. Kelsey expressed surprise at having to report to prison, maintaining that he believed divine intervention would prevent his incarceration.
"I always felt like God was going to provide a miracle, and he had provided so many before," Kelsey remarked.
Upon receiving the pardon, Kelsey expressed gratitude towards former President Trump and acknowledged the support of friends and family during this tumultuous period.
"I'm just going to take the day to thank President Trump and others who supported me, and hug on my wife and kids," Kelsey said.
The pardon has reignited discussions about the politicization of the Department of Justice under President Joe Biden's administration. The CPAC spokeswoman criticized what she perceives as an imbalance in prosecutions based on political affiliations.
"We continue to believe that under President Joe Biden the DOJ was used to persecute political opponents, and prosecutions against Republicans far outweighed those against members of his own party," she asserted.
"Due to the politicization of the DOJ, President Trump and many of his allies, including CPAC, spent millions of dollars to fight a weaponized attempt at prosecution. The missing step is full financial restitution for those forced to spend millions to counter politically-motivated investigations," she continued.
The spokeswoman extended well wishes to Kelsey and his family as they move forward from this chapter.
"We wish Brian Kelsey and his family all the best as they close this painful chapter of their lives," she concluded.
Kelsey's case is one among several high-profile pardons issued by Trump, including those for Ross Ulbricht and Rod Blagojevich. These actions have sparked debates over the use of presidential pardons and their implications for justice and political bias in legal proceedings.