Senators Introduce Resolution Against Clemency for Sam Bankman-Fried
Quick Look
- Senators Rubén Gallego (D-AZ) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced a resolution opposing any clemency for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who is seeking a presidential pardon.
- The resolution affirms the jury's verdict and rejects his claims of political persecution.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the now-collapsed FTX cryptocurrency exchange, was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He is now seeking a presidential pardon.
A bipartisan pair of senators is moving to put Congress on record against any clemency for Sam Bankman-Fried, as the imprisoned FTX founder presses a long-shot bid for a presidential pardon.
On Wednesday, Sens. Rubén Gallego (D-AZ) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)—the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets—introduced a resolution declaring that the convicted crypto fraudster should not receive a pardon, commutation, or other federal clemency. "Keep him locked up," Gallego said.
Bankman-Fried had shown “no remorse” for his crimes, Gallego added. Lummis, a leading crypto advocate, was just as pointed, saying Bankman-Fried had had his day in court and was "chasing clemency he hasn't earned" rather than taking accountability.
“SBF has clearly ramped up his pardon campaign and Senator Lummis wants Fried to know she and her colleagues think he’s right where he belongs,” a spokesperson for the senator's office told Decrypt.
Bankman-Fried's downfall came about following the collapse of FTX in November 2022, with a jury returning a unanimous guilty verdict on seven fraud and conspiracy counts in November 2023, followed by a 25-year sentence and $11 billion forfeiture ordered by Judge Lewis Kaplan in March 2024.
FTX customers alone lost more than $8 billion in what prosecutors ranked among the biggest financial frauds in U.S. history. The resolution rejects Bankman-Fried's portrayal of his prosecution as political persecution and affirms the integrity of the jury's verdict.
The intervention by the Senators comes after SBF formally petitioned the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney this month for a "pardon after completion of sentence," a request that remains pending. Just days earlier, the Second Circuit upheld his conviction and sentence, leaving him ineligible for release until 2044.
President Trump has ruled out clemency for Bankman-Fried, telling the New York Times in January he had no plans to grant it. Even so, the resolution reflects unease that the door could reopen, with Trump having pardoned other crypto figures including Silk Road's Ross Ulbricht, BitMEX's Arthur Hayes and Ben Delo, and Binance's Changpeng Zhao.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The resolution will be formally debated and voted on by the Senate.
Possible · Within months
Open Questions
- Will the resolution influence the pardon process?
- What is the likelihood of any clemency being granted?
