In an unexpected move, President Donald Trump has granted a pardon to a former Republican lawmaker from Tennessee. The ex-legislator had already commenced a 21-month prison term for his involvement in an illicit campaign finance operation. The individual in question, Brian Kelsey, had confessed to his part in the scheme in 2022. However, this confession was not without controversy, as Kelsey subsequently attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to retract his guilty plea.
The former state senator, Brian Kelsey, made the announcement of his pardon in a social media post on Tuesday evening. He had been required to report to the minimum-security satellite camp of FCI Ashland, located in Kentucky, on February 24. Kelsey was in the early stages of his sentence, having only been incarcerated for two weeks at the time of the pardon.
The pardon was described as a “full and unconditional pardon” in relation to his case. This means that Kelsey was absolved of all legal consequences associated with his conviction. As part of the pardon, authorities were instructed to facilitate the release of Kelsey from prison without delay. These details were confirmed via a copy of the president’s pardon order, provided by the attorney representing Kelsey.
Kelsey took to social media to share his gratitude and relief at the pardon, making references to what he perceived as unjust treatment by the prosecution. “May God bless America, despite the prosecutorial sins it committed against me, President Trump, and others the past four years,” Kelsey stated in his post.
At the age of 47, Kelsey entered a guilty plea in November 2022. The charges brought against him were related to his attempts to reroute campaign funds from his state legislative seat to support his unsuccessful 2016 bid for Congress.
The indictment against Kelsey was filed in October 2021. From the outset, he was vocal about his belief that the prosecution was nothing more than a politically motivated witch hunt. He pointed the finger of blame at the Democratic administration of then-President Joe Biden. However, when a co-defendant entered a guilty plea the following October, Kelsey swiftly followed suit.
Kelsey reiterated his criticism of the Biden administration in his social media post, crediting President Trump with his salvation from what he called a “weaponized Biden DOJ” – a reference to the Department of Justice. Interestingly, it was during Trump’s first term, back in 2017, that Kelsey’s campaign finance dealings first sparked a complaint by the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center. This complaint was lodged with both the Federal Election Commission and the Department of Justice.
In March 2023, Kelsey made an attempt to rescind his guilty plea, but this was unsuccessful. In defense of his request, he argued that he had entered the plea with an “unsure heart and a confused mind.” Kelsey noted that he was dealing with significant personal challenges at the time. His twin sons had been born in September 2022, and his father was battling terminal pancreatic cancer, eventually passing away in February 2023.
Kelsey also stated that he accepted the plea deal on the advice of his then-attorneys. They had suggested that he would likely be given probation as a result of the plea deal, according to a statement released on Wednesday by an attorney now representing Kelsey.
Despite these arguments, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw, based in Nashville, denied Kelsey’s request to change his plea in May 2023. Judge Crenshaw expressed skepticism regarding Kelsey’s claim of not understanding the serious implications of pleading guilty. Given Kelsey’s background as a Georgetown University-educated attorney and notable former state senator, the judge found it hard to believe that Kelsey was unaware of the consequences of his action.
Judge Crenshaw had to address another challenge from Kelsey later, wherein Kelsey accused prosecutors of violating his plea agreement. Although the judge dismissed this claim, he did allow Kelsey to remain free until his appeal was settled in September. However, Kelsey’s appeal ultimately proved unsuccessful.
In the subsequent month, Judge Crenshaw dismissed another motion from Kelsey who was attempting to avoid imprisonment. In this motion, Kelsey argued that he had been provided with ineffective legal counsel. He also claimed that his proclamation of innocence was backed up by recordings from two key witnesses, co-defendant Joshua Smith, and former GOP Rep. Jeremy Durham, who had not been charged in the case. In response, Judge Crenshaw pointed out that Kelsey had provided an “unconditional admission of guilt” under the threat of perjury.
At the time that he received the presidential pardon, Kelsey had another appeal pending. Smith, who owns a social club in Nashville, had entered a guilty plea to one count under a deal that demanded his full and truthful cooperation. As a result of his plea, Smith was handed a five-year probation sentence.
The indictment against Kelsey, Smith, and others suggested that they had illicitly hidden the transfer of $91,000. This amount included $66,000 from Kelsey’s state Senate campaign committee and $25,000 from a nonprofit that advocated for legal justice issues. This money was routed to a national political organization to fund advertisements encouraging support for Kelsey’s failed 2016 congressional campaign. As a result of this scheme, the political group was led to file false campaign finance reports and make illegal, excessive campaign contributions to Kelsey, according to the indictment.
The indictment does not specify the name of the national political organization involved in these transactions. However, it has been suggested by the Campaign Legal Center’s 2017 complaint that it was the American Conservative Union that was making coordinated independent expenditures along with Kelsey’s campaign. The American Conservative Union has confirmed that it has cooperated with investigators in the case.
Saurav Ghosh, the director of federal campaign finance reform at the Campaign Legal Center, expressed his disappointment at Trump’s pardon of Kelsey. In his view, the pardon “demonstrates an open hostility and contempt for accountability and the rule of law.”
A resident of Germantown, Kelsey is a trained attorney who was first elected to the General Assembly in 2004 as a state representative. He went on to be elected to the Senate in 2009. He chose not to run for reelection in 2022.
During his time in the Senate, Kelsey served as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, overseeing amendments to civil and criminal laws, judicial proceedings, and more. His law license was suspended in 2022 following his guilty plea. The pardon by President Trump and the subsequent release from prison mark a significant turn in Kelsey’s story.
