Sam Bankman-Fried Files Formal Pardon Request with Trump Administration
Convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has formally submitted a presidential pardon request to the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Pardon Attorney. Bankman-Fried is currently serving a 25-year federal prison sentence after being found guilty of orchestrating a massive fraud scheme involving billions of dollars in customer funds. The request is notable given that Trump has previously stated he has no intention of pardoning Bankman-Fried.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder of the now-defunct FTX cryptocurrency exchange, has officially filed a formal request for a presidential pardon, according to records listed on the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Pardon Attorney website. The filing, submitted in 2026, is categorized as a request for 'pardon after completion of sentence' and remains pending. Bankman-Fried was convicted of orchestrating a massive fraud scheme that misused billions of dollars in customer funds at FTX and its affiliated trading firm, Alameda Research, resulting in a 25-year federal prison sentence. The request faces an uphill battle, as Trump stated in a January interview with The New York Times that he has no intention of pardoning Bankman-Fried. Trump has been notably active with clemency in his second term, issuing more than 1,400 pardons and commutations, the majority of which were related to January 6 cases. The White House declined to comment on the pardon request.
What's missing
Coverage does not detail the legal arguments or grounds Bankman-Fried's team is using to justify the pardon request, nor does it mention whether any political allies or crypto industry figures are advocating on his behalf.
How coverage differed
Both BBC and CNBC reported the story in largely neutral terms, though CNBC provided significantly more detail, including Trump's prior statement against a pardon and context about Trump's broader clemency record, giving readers a fuller picture of the request's likelihood of success.
What different sources said
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