GERMANTOWN, Tenn. (WKRN) — President Donald Trump pardoned a former Tennessee senator convicted of campaign finance violations Tuesday afternoon.
In a post to X, formerly Twitter, Brian Kelsey said Trump issued a full and unconditional pardon after being convicted of campaign finance violations. Kelsey pleaded guilty in Nov. 2022 to violating campaign finance laws and conspiring to defraud the Federal Election Commission during his 2016 bid for U.S. Congress.
“Thank you for all your prayers! Praise the Lord most high!” the post reads, in part. “May God bless America, despite the prosecutorial sins it committed against me, President Trump, and others the past four years [sic]. And God bless Donald J. Trump for Making America Great Again!”
Kelsey had been sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for the campaign violations weeks ago.
Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) responded to Kelsey’s announcement on X, saying, “Dude plead guilty, but sure.” Representative Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby) also responded on X.
“Breaking the law is wrong, but the law that put Kelsey behind bars is unjust,” Faison said. “Congress passed that law just to keep out competition, which is exactly what they need!”
