“I Know! Fulton County!” Savannah Chrisley Echoes Trump’s Claims of Unfair Prosecution at RNC
(Getty)
On Tuesday night, Savannah Chrisley delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC), sharing her family’s ordeal with prosecutors in Georgia, echoing former President Donald Trump’s argument that the cases against him are politically motivated. However, as columnist Philip Bump noted in his analysis for the Washington Post, the narrative unravels upon closer examination.
During the second night of the RNC, themed “Making America Safe Again,” Chrisley spoke about her parents, Todd and Julie Chrisley, who are currently serving federal prison sentences for conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion. From the RNC lectern, Savannah highlighted that her parents were prosecuted in Fulton County, Georgia. This reference to the county, where Trump also faces multiple felony charges, drew boos from the crowd.
“I know! Fulton County!” Chrisley said. “They know how to do it, don’t they?”
Bump pointed out that despite Chrisley’s remarks, Todd and Julie Chrisley were prosecuted by the Department of Justice, not local prosecutors. At the time of their indictment, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was not yet in office. Additionally, the U.S. attorney who indicted the Chrisleys was appointed by Trump in 2017 and later resigned in January 2021, during Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Bump argued that Savannah Chrisley’s speech was part of an effort to provide cover for a political party preparing to nominate a candidate facing multiple felony charges. He suggested that the GOP’s strategy of undermining certain prosecutors allows it to maintain its claim of supporting law enforcement. Earlier in the week, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) declared, “We in the Republican Party are the law and order team,” and emphasized that Republicans “always have been and we always will be the advocates for the rule of law.”
“The entire point of dedication to the rule of law, though, is that you have respect for and confidence in the process even as you recognize that it is imperfect,” Bump wrote. “The concept is predicated on the idea that the dispensation of justice is mechanical and objective. If you eagerly champion the baseless idea that the system is targeting your allies, you are not an advocate for the rule of law. You are an advocate for the selective application of power, which the rule of law is designed to counteract.”
Bump continued, arguing that according to Chrisley, the Republican Party’s interpretation of law and order can be more simply defined as putting “legal boundaries… around people they don’t like.” “For all of the somber invocation of the Republican Party’s loyalty to law enforcement and respect for traditional American institutions, Chrisley’s presence on the stage laid bare the self-serving nature of the GOP’s rhetoric about prosecutions,” he wrote.
“Republicans believe deeply in the rule of law as it applies to protesters on college campuses, Hunter Biden’s gun charges, and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey). But when the criminality involves fraud, tax evasion, or spiriting classified material off to your home, the system is rigged against conservatives. Defund the IRS! Defund the FBI!” “Chrisley’s speech was aimed at reinforcing the idea that prosecutors were targeting the right unfairly,” he added. “The sleight of hand about timing and venue was merely a mechanism for making that case.”
