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Pardon Bid Filed
Jailed crypto founder Sam Bankman-Fried has filed an application for a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump while serving a 25-year sentence for fraud tied to FTX and Alameda Research.
“Sam Bankman-Fried officially asks Trump for a presidential pardon The fallen crypto mogul serving a 25-year sentence filed a clemency petition, betting on Donald Trump's history of crypto pardons even though the president had told him not to count on one”
BBC reported that Bankman-Fried, “the 34-year-old former billionaire,” submitted the request after completing “two years into that sentence,” with the White House declining to comment and a lawyer for Bankman-Fried not replying to a request for comment.
CNN said Bankman-Fried’s application with the Justice Department is for a “pardon after completion of sentence,” which the DOJ’s website describes as restoring certain civil liberties such as the right to vote or to serve on a jury after he serves out his prison sentence.
The DOJ’s Office of the Pardon Attorney listing also frames the request as “pardon after completion of sentence,” and CNBC reported the request was submitted in 2026 and is pending, though the exact date is not publicly listed.
What He Says
In a phone interview with FOX Business correspondent Susan Li, Bankman-Fried said, “Absolutely,” when asked if he would want a pardon from the White House, and he added, “It would be, obviously, ultimately up to the president, not up to me.”
FOX Business also reported that Bankman-Fried declined to say whether his parents or anyone he had been in contact with was lobbying the administration, responding, “I can’t speak for them.”
CNN reported that Bankman-Fried’s application is for a “pardon after completion of sentence,” and said such a pardon would not erase his conviction but would restore civil liberties after he serves his prison term.
The BBC account said Bankman-Fried “has not asked for a commutation,” and that he is attempting to appeal his sentence while maintaining he is innocent.
Trump’s Record and Stakes
The BBC reported that Trump has issued pardons during his second term including for “hundreds of people who participated in the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol Building,” and for the founder of a dark web marketplace where drugs were sold.
“Sam Bankman-Fried, the imprisoned founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has filed a formal clemency petition with the U”
CNBC said Trump told The New York Times in a January interview that he has “no intention of pardoning” Bankman-Fried, and it also reported that the White House declined to comment for the story.
For Bankman-Fried, the stakes are tied to what the DOJ’s website says a “pardon after completion of sentence” would do, since CNN described it as restoring civil liberties and lifting barriers to licensing, employment, housing or education if granted.
The BBC also noted that Bankman-Fried’s bid appears alongside “more than 20,000 requests for either pardon or commutations,” according to records of the Office of the Pardon Attorney for the justice department, while the White House declined to comment on his request.
