Key Takeaways
- Allegations of a lobbying effort to pardon Sam Bankman-Fried have emerged.
- The allegations came just one day before a new interview with Bankman-Fried released.
- Despite speculation, there is no official sign that the Trump administration is considering a pardon.
Investigative journalist Laura Loomer has warned of what she describes as a “massive and well-funded lobbying effort” to secure a presidential pardon for convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
The comments come just one day before an interview with Bankman-Fried was published where he claimed FTX was never insolvent and that its downfall was driven by lawyers and regulators.
Alleged Lobbying Campaign
Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced in March to 25 years in prison for fraud and campaign finance violations, has made several attempts to convince Trump to pardon him.
On Tuesday, Loomer posted on X that the world would start seeing “a lot more in the news about Sam Bankman-Fried.”
The commentator alleged that there was a “massive and well-funded effort” by Republicans to “get this criminal pardoned.”
“He’s going to pretend like he was a victim of Joe Biden and the Democrats after he funded all of the Left’s campaigns,” she wrote. “Don’t fall for it.”
Loomer’s comments doubled down on previous allegations from March, when she claimed that the “effort to get Trump to pardon SBF needs to be exposed and shut down.”
Adding: “Why on Earth are GOP consultants, big Crypto donors and Trump world operatives trying to get SBF a pardon from Trump? How much are they getting paid to do this?
The commentator also slammed SBF as “a criminal who bankrolled the Democrat Party,” stating he should “rot in prison for his entire sentence.”
SBF Claims FTX Was Solvent, Blames Lawyers
In a lengthy interview shared by conservative opinion writer Amuse, Bankman-Fried reportedly said that FTX held $15 billion in assets and $8.4 billion in liabilities at the time it filed for bankruptcy in November 2022.
The former billionaire asserted that the company’s assets exceeded its debts even amid the crypto market crash.
He accused bankruptcy lawyers of mismanaging the estate and liquidating assets at the bottom of the market, stating “FTX was solvent, with billions to spare.”
“But customers had leverage, and I was told that surrendering control would help them. It didn’t. It helped the lawyers,” he added.
His statements contradict the findings presented at trial, where prosecutors argued that Bankman-Fried diverted billions in customer funds to support trading firm Alameda Research and for personal spending, including political donations.
Following the interview, Ryne Miller, who served as FTX’s general counsel, dismissed the solvency claims outright.
Talking on X at Oct. 16, Miller said that it was clear the company’s assets had already vanished when he was briefed in November 2022.
“That week in November 2022, assets on hand were nothing near adequate, and the founders were fabricating asset lists (and desperately chasing new investors),” Miller wrote.
Adding: “The coins were gone, folks. Your coins were gone. That’s why bankruptcy happened.”
In November 2023, Bankman-Fried was convicted of two counts of wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, and one count each of conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering.
The interview came just one day after Loomer’s warning, prompting U.S. polticial journalist Eleanor Terrett to share the interview with:
“Looks like Laura Loomer was on to something here.”
SBF’s Media Offensive
The renewed attention on the disgraced FTX founder follows a series of media interviews held earlier this year, including one with The New York Sun, where Bankman-Fried described his prosecution as part of a broader “prosecutorial overreach” under the Biden administration.
In these interviews, Bankman-Fried appeared to distance himself from the Democratic Party, despite having been one of its largest donors in 2020.
He accused the Biden administration of being “incredibly destructive and difficult to work with,” adding that Republicans had proven “far more reasonable.”
“I viewed myself at the time as sort of Center-Left, and that’s not how I view myself anymore,” he said, pointing to what he called a “vibe shift” among Silicon Valley figures now more openly backing Trump.
In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Bankman-Fried said he was privately giving as much to Republicans as he was publicly giving to Democrats.
In January, Bankman-Fried’s parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, were reportedly pursuing clemency discussions with people connected to Trump.
No Sign of a Pardon
Despite Loomer’s allegations and speculation online, there is no official indication that the Trump administration is considering a pardon for Bankman-Fried.
Neither the Department of Justice nor the White House has commented, suggesting that clemency discussions are underway, and no filings have appeared in the public record.
Even on Polymarket, a popular blockchain-based betting platform, traders are currently pricing only a 3% chance that Bankman-Fried will receive a pardon before the end of 2025.
Although Trump’s early pardon of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht energized parts of the digital asset community, the political push surrounding Bankman-Fried feels markedly different.
Ulbricht’s case drew sympathy from groups advocating for criminal justice reform, whereas Bankman-Fried’s downfall remains spoiled by fraud and the collapse of FTX.
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Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
