Sam Bankman-Fried Seeks Clemency From Trump, Slams Biden Administration in First Interview From Prison
Sam Bankman-Fried, who is serving a 25-year sentence at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn for his role in the FTX collapse, is seeking to lobby former President Donald Trump for a pardon. In his first interview from behind bars, he blasted the Biden administration, saying he was the victim of prosecutorial abuse.
Criticizing Biden Administration, Seeking Opportunity Under Trump
Bankman-Fried argued that his case reflects a politicized justice system, with the Biden administration using prosecutors to target him. The comments came as FTX began refunding customers, although some criticized the way the funds were disbursed based on the low value of the cryptocurrency in 2022, rather than the current rate.
The former FTX CEO also highlighted the contrast between the two parties, saying Republicans are “much more reasonable” than the Biden administration, which is “destructive and difficult to work with.” He suggested that Trump could see him as an ally, as both were tried by Judge Lewis Kaplan.
Ideological shift and Trump connection
Formerly one of the largest donors to Biden’s 2020 campaign, Bankman-Fried said he once considered himself a center-leftist but has since changed his views. He compared his political shift to tech figures like Mark Zuckerberg and Marc Andreessen, who have also been leaning toward Trump.
Bankman-Fried also pointed to the disparity in sentencing between him and Ryan Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, who was sentenced to 90 months in prison for illegal political contributions. He believes the justice system has been unfair in giving a Republican a harsher sentence than others involved.
Campaigning for leniency and appealing the sentence
Bankman-Fried is not the only figure in the crypto space seeking clemency from Trump. Others like Roger Ver and Virgil Griffith are also campaigning for a reduced sentence.
He is currently appealing his sentence, arguing that the trial was seriously flawed. Bankman-Fried maintains that FTX always had enough assets to repay customers as early as November 2022, but the bankruptcy process has made customers wait longer.
While he has sought to reach out to Trump with words of support and criticism of Biden, Bankman-Fried has emphasized that money is no longer the most important thing to him in the current situation.
