Bipartisan Senators Oppose Pardon for Sam Bankman-Fried

Senators Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., filed a nonbinding Senate resolution opposing any presidential pardon for Sam Bankman‑Fried, the former FTX chief now serving a 25-year prison term. The measure cannot block a pardon but records formal legislative opposition while a clemency petition is under review.

The resolution states: “The 25‑year sentence imposed upon Bankman‑Fried reflects the extraordinary scale and deliberateness of his crimes, his lack of remorse, and the catastrophic harm inflicted upon millions of victims, and that such a sentence serves the interests of justice.” The text frames the action around the length of the sentence and the number of people harmed.

Bankman‑Fried co-founded the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and trading firm Alameda Research. Both companies collapsed in November 2022. A federal jury convicted him in 2023 on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced him to 25 years and ordered forfeiture of $11 billion. Prosecutors allege the scheme misappropriated more than $8 billion from customers.

On April 28, 2026, Judge Kaplan denied Bankman‑Fried’s motion for a new trial. A federal appeals court recently upheld the conviction and the 25-year sentence.

Bankman‑Fried’s petition for clemency is listed as pending with the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney. He has publicly expressed support for President Donald Trump on X, and reports indicate his parents retained lawyers with ties to Trump in 2025 to seek a pardon. President Trump publicly dismissed the idea of granting clemency in January.

Bankman‑Fried is in federal custody and, under the current sentence, is projected to be released in 2044. Reporting has noted he discussed plans to launch a new cryptocurrency token after completing his sentence. While his legal appeals have concluded, the pardon petition remains under review by the Office of the Pardon Attorney.