(The Center Square) – Former Tennessee state lawmaker Brian Kelsey, who pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance charges, said President Donald Trump pardoned him.
Kelsey pleaded guilty to charges related to the concealment of money used to support his failed 2016 campaign for Congress. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The former Memphis lawmaker maintained his innocence despite his guilty plea in social media posts, blaming his legal troubles on the Biden administration.
“This is nothing but a political witch hunt,” Kelsey said in a post made in 2021, shortly after charges were announced by the Department of Justice. “The Biden administration is trying to take me out because I’m conservative, and I’m the #1 target of the Tennessee Democratic Party. I won my seat only 51% to 49% last time, and the Democrats think this will make the difference.”
Kelsey thanked Trump in a social media post late Tuesday.
“God used Donald Trump to save me from the weaponized Biden DOJ,” Kelsey said. “This afternoon, I received a full and unconditional pardon form an act that even my chief accuser admitted I didn’t commit.”
Kelsey served in the Tennessee Senate from 2009 to 2022 and previously served in the state House of Representatives from 2004 to 2009.
