Former state Sen. Brian Kelsey will be free until his appeal plays out after U.S. District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw on Tuesday, Sept. 26, granted his request for bail.

Crenshaw determined that Kelsey had raised a “substantial and close question that is integral to the merits of his convictions” and did not appeal for the sole purpose of delay.

Kelsey says Department of Justice Trial Attorney John Taddei violated the plea agreement at the Aug. 11 sentencing hearing when he advocated for a tougher sentence; he says his conviction could be overturned and that he would be released from his plea agreement.

Brian Kelsey’s sentencing was delayed again. Here’s a timeline of his legal odyssey.

“Clearly, Kelsey has made the minimal showing that the case could go either way on appeal,” Crenshaw wrote.

Crenshaw sentenced Kelsey to 21 months in prison in August, nine months after Kelsey initially pleaded guilty to accepting excessive campaign donations and conspiracy to defraud the United States in connection with his 2016 campaign for Congress. Since March, Kelsey has been trying to reverse his guilty pleas.

He had been scheduled to surrender Oct. 20.

Crenshaw did, however, criticize one of Kelsey’s weakest arguments — that an “unsure heart” and his unfamiliarity with the criminal justice system led him to make the wrong plea.

“The Court found that … Kelsey knowingly and voluntarily entered his plea,” he wrote.

Brian Kelsey appeals conviction, says prosecutors violated plea deal

“The Court also found Kelsey’s testimony incredible and simply did not (and does not) believe that a Georgetown-educated lawyer and former State Senator, who served in the Tennessee General Assembly for almost 20 years and chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee, did not understand the solemnity and gravity of entering a guilty plea and the loss of rights that act entailed.”

Crenshaw was also critical of the prosecutors.

In opposing Kelsey’s motion for bail, prosecutors wrote that Kelsey was merely attempting to delay his incarceration. They also wrote in a footnote that Kelsey could be a flight risk — a claim that Crenshaw wrote “can only be viewed as a makeweight argument.”

He noted Kelsey had complied with all of the court’s pre-trial release conditions since he was arrested in November 2021.

“Of course, facing any period of incarceration is daunting, but a 21-month sentence is relatively minimal and significantly less than the average defendant receives,” he wrote.

“Further, the Court finds it far-fetched that Kelsey would decide to abscond and face significantly more time when he has a wife, a young daughter, and twin sons who recently turned one year old waiting for him at home. Going on the run with a wife and three small children in tow is even less imaginable.”

Brian Kelsey appears in court to ask for bail pending appeal

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit — which is based in Cincinnati and covers appeals from Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio — will decide whether Kelsey’s argument is persuasive; Crenshaw’s role was to decide if it was a close question.

Kelsey’s appeal with the Sixth Circuit was docketed Aug. 24. His first brief is due Oct. 17.