# Brian Kelsey **Brian Kelsey** is a former Republican Tennessee state senator who pleaded guilty in 2022 to participating in an **illegal campaign-finance scheme** to funnel money from his state campaign account into his 2016 congressional bid through national political organizations, in violation of federal law. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison. Roughly two weeks into that sentence, he was **pardoned by [[Donald Trump]] in March 2025** as part of the [[Trump 2025 Pardon Spree]]. ## The Campaign-Finance Scheme Kelsey orchestrated an unlawful routing of approximately $90,000 in soft money to support his congressional campaign, concealing the true source. After pleading guilty, he repeatedly tried to withdraw the plea before ultimately reporting to prison; the pardon, arriving almost immediately, made him one of the earliest beneficiaries of the second-term clemency program for Republican officeholders convicted of financial crimes. CREW counted him among the corrupt politicians granted clemency. ## Cross-references - Clemency event: [[Trump 2025 Pardon Spree]] - Mechanism: [[Pardons as Currency]] - Accountability frame: [[Elite Impunity]]