Sam Bankman-Fried Pushes for Pardon Amid Warning of Lobbying
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.
Try Our Recommended Crypto Exchanges
Sponsored
Disclosure
We sometimes use affiliate links in our content, when clicking on those we might receive a commission at no extra cost to you. By using this website you agree to our terms and conditions and privacy policy.
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…
Read More: Sam Bankman-Fried Pushes for Pardon Amid Warning of Lobbying