Sam Bankman-Fried, the imprisoned former CEO of FTX, hopes President Trump will pardon him, portraying his conviction as part of Biden’s anti-crypto stance.
However, while Bankman-Fried was free and a billionaire, he donated millions against Trump in the 2020 election. Securing a pardon under these circumstances may be a long shot.
Will Trump Pardon Sam Bankman-Fried?
Sam Bankman-Fried, one of the biggest criminals in crypto history, is trying to get out of federal prison. He has consistently petitioned for his release since the legal battle began in 2022, but with little success.
Now, however, Bankman-Fried is looking for a new strategy, hoping that President Trump will pardon him.
> “My judge, Judge Kaplan, is one of Trump’s judges in New York, which is sort of part of a larger fight going on between the incoming Trump DOJ and what they see from Biden’s DOJ. I know there have been discussions of a pardon… Given what President Trump has seen of the DOJ and its politicization, I think there is a real conversation happening around that,” says Bankman-Fried.
Before FTX crashed in 2022, Bankman-Fried was a key player in the international crypto scene. He was a major Democratic donor, contributing to Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump, but all his political capital disappeared with his empire.
Recently, prosecutors made an exception for him when announcing an end to crypto crackdowns.
Now that Trump is in charge, this may present a new opportunity. He pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, whose decade-long imprisonment became a significant cause in the crypto community after petitions from his mother. Bankman-Fried’s parents began asking Trump to pardon their son last month.
In his first interview from prison with The New York Sun, Bankman-Fried was light on directly praising Trump regarding his pardon requests.
Instead, he acknowledged his past ties with the Biden administration, claiming dissatisfaction with its crypto policies, alleging that his conviction resulted from government overreach that Trump could amend:
> “I viewed myself at the time as sort of center-left, and that’s not how I view myself anymore. By 2022, I had spent time in Washington, D.C., working with legislators, regulators, and the executive branch, and I became really frustrated and disappointed with what I saw of the Biden administration and the Democratic Party. Particularly on crypto policy, the Biden administration was incredibly destructive and difficult to work with. I think my case fits into that broader context,” claimed Bankman-Fried.
It’s unclear if this approach will influence Trump. Although Bankman-Fried also claimed to have donated to Republicans, he directly opposed Trump with millions.
In other words, while Bankman-Fried maintains his innocence, a pardon seems like a real long shot.
Bankman-Fried Still Claims Innocence
Sam Bankman-Fried states that prosecutors pushed “very big misinformation during his trial.” He also claims misleading data about his luxury apartments.
He firmly denies that FTX and Alameda Research were bankrupt or insolvent:
> “Both companies had enough to make good on all their liabilities. What happened was a liquidity crisis, a run on the bank. We had more in assets than in debt, but all of a sudden there was a big demand for cash delivery immediately,” he asserts.
Regardless of his claims, Bankman-Fried’s colleagues, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh, and Caroline Ellison, testified against him during the trial, receiving much lighter sentences for their cooperation.
Although the founder mentioned mistakes, he believes his sentencing was exaggerated. However, the crypto community might not agree.
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