Regardless of Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) greatest efforts to persuade President Donald Trump to grant him a pardon, the newest replace from Washington DC isn’t trying good for the FTX founder and convicted felon.
SBF stole over $8 billion from his prospects, and was subsequently sentenced to 25 years in federal jail. For months, the convicted fraudster has flooded X with pro-Trump posts, blaming his conviction on “Biden’s lawfare machine” and praising MAGA insurance policies.
Nonetheless, members of Congress on both aspect of the aisle are lower than impressed.
Senator Bernie Moreno, a pro-crypto Republican, instructed Politico, “The guy’s a piece of ***t. He shouldn’t be pardoned.”
In the meantime, Senator Cynthia Lummis, a pro-crypto Democrat, expressed hope that Trump wouldn’t fall for SBF’s transparently self-interested rhetoric.
Mike Flood of Nebraska, one other pro-crypto Republican, reacted with disbelief. “He crashed the market. He engaged in massive fraud,” Floodsaid. “Wall Street’s not bringing him back to fix anything,” he stated.
Democratic Congressman Sam Liccardo piled on, cynically saying that solely a big sufficient payout for a corrupt pardon would do the trick.
SEN. CYNTHIA LUMMIS ON SBF: “SOMEONE’S LOOKING FOR A PARDON AND DOESN’T REALIZE THE CLARITY ACT WOULD HAVE YOU LOCKED UP FOR MUCH LONGER THAN 25 YEARS.”
— The Wolf Of All Streets (@scottmelker) February 26, 2026
Portray on MAGA lipstick and saying no matter it takes
SBF’s X account, operated by a buddy as a proxy for his Bureau of Prisons-permitted communication, has praised a number of Trump’s insurance policies about which SBF has little understanding, together with the brand new TrumpRX drug pricing initiative and “deep state” undermining of MAGA insurance policies.
Out of the blue, SBF has praised Trump’s social media firms. “Dems like censoring ‘misinfo’ on social media. Truth Social & GETTR have always put free speech first.”
SBF mentioned sharing a cell block with Sean “Diddy” Combs, and blamed his conviction on a “Clinton-appointed” Democrat choose.
He additionally sat for an unauthorized jailhouse interview with Tucker Carlson final 12 months in a transparent try and argue for a pardon. That interview reportedly landed him in solitary confinement.
SBF’s mother and father, ex-Stanford professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, have reportedly consulted with Kory Langhofer, a lawyer who labored on Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns.
Sadly for him, none of his pardon makes an attempt have labored. Certainly, Trump instructed The New York Occasions in January 2026 that he doesn’t plan to grant his pardon request.
A White Home spokesperson reiterated to Fortune in February that Trump’s place hasn’t modified.
Different crypto criminals obtained pardons
Whereas SBF languishes in jail, Trump has pardoned a handful of crypto-adjacent criminals previously 10 months.
Ross Ulbricht, founding father of the narcotics and firearm market Silk Street, walked free on Trump’s second day in workplace after serving over a decade.
Three BitMEX co-founders who operated a secret buying and selling firm that benefited from leveraged buyer liquidations, and who pleaded responsible to violating the Financial institution Secrecy Act, obtained full pardons in March 2025.
Lastly, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ), who served 4 months for cash laundering violations, obtained his presidential pardon final October. Binance facilitated a $2 billion funding into Trump’s World Liberty Monetary stablecoin shortly earlier than CZ’s pardon.
In fact, SBF’s crimes are in a distinct class. A jury convicted him on seven counts of fraud and conspiracies and prosecutors known as it “one of the largest financial frauds in history.”
SBF directed co-conspirators to change FTX’s buying and selling account in order that Alameda Analysis may drain buyer funds and use leverage on a vast foundation.
Three associates, together with his ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison, testified that SBF ordered them to commit fraud.
The crypto business spent 4 years scrubbing his stain off digital asset laws.
Senator Lummis publicly dismissed his endorsement of the crypto market construction invoice, the CLARITY Act, in February whereas Senator Elizabeth Warren stated SBF’s endorsement ought to “set off alarm bells.”
Though Warren and Lummis agree on virtually nothing in relation to crypto, they agree on this.
A tricky pardon to promote
The burden of SBF’s pardon request far exceeds any prior request.
CZ pleaded responsible to compliance failures whereas BitMEX ex-CEO Arthur Hayes uncared for anti-money laundering protocols.
Though each males had fairness stakes in buying and selling firms who profited from trades on their exchanges, their felony indictments didn’t contain any claims of buyer losses. Their offenses had been technical.
In distinction, Bankman-Fried stole $8 billion from prospects. As such, Trump has stated no to his pardon request, the White Home has reiterated this stance, and plenty of members of Congress are additionally in settlement.
In fact, Trump typically modifications his thoughts, and there are nonetheless three years left in his time period.
