Sam Bankman-Fried is now formally asking the president he’s been publicly praising to wipe his record clean. Politico reports the 34-year-old former chief of the FTX crypto exchange has filed an application for a presidential pardon to take effect after he finishes his prison term, according to the Justice Department’s website. The pardon he is seeking would restore his civil liberties, including the right to vote, after his sentence is complete, USA Today reports. Bankman-Fried was convicted in 2023 of orchestrating what prosecutors characterized as one of the biggest financial frauds in US history, accusing him of diverting billions in customer funds to backstop another crypto firm he founded, fund a plush life in the Bahamas, and build political influence in Washington.
From prison, he told Fox Business he would “absolutely” accept a pardon, though he said he has had no direct talks with the White House and declined to say whether allies have. The request lands amid significant political resistance. President Trump told the New York Times in January he does not intend to pardon Bankman-Fried, and key Republicans shaping crypto policy have urged against it. The pardon bid comes shortly after a judge rejected Bankman-Fried’s effort to secure a new trial; his appeal of the conviction is ongoing. He was sentenced to 25 years behind bars.
