Senators Urge Trump Not to Pardon Sam Bankman-Fried

Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) introduced a four-page Senate resolution on Wednesday expressing that Samuel Bankman-Fried should not receive executive clemency and urged President Trump not to grant a pardon.

Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of FTX and Alameda Research, was convicted by a New York jury in November 2023 on seven counts related to defrauding customers, lenders and investors. He was later sentenced to 25 years in prison. FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022 after prosecutors said customer funds were diverted to support Alameda.

The resolution asks the Senate to record formal opposition to any presidential clemency for Bankman-Fried. Lummis and Gallego said the measure aligns with their work on legislation to regulate digital assets and hold industry actors accountable. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement, Lummis wrote that Bankman-Fried “had his day in court,” noting the jury verdict and the judge's sentence. She suggested he could continue pursuing clemency or accept responsibility for his actions.

Gallego criticized Bankman-Fried's conduct, saying he took advantage of many Americans and stole their savings, and added that the former CEO has shown no remorse, calling his claims of being a victim of “lawfare” laughable and saying, “What a joke.”

Bankman-Fried has sought a presidential pardon and has posted on social platforms, at times praising some of President Trump's other clemency decisions. President Trump has said he has no plans to pardon Bankman-Fried.

The resolution arrives as Lummis and Gallego continue negotiating broader crypto market-structure legislation designed to create a federal regulatory framework for digital assets. One sticking point in those talks has been conflicts of interest and ethical rules for senior officials; Gallego has proposed barring the president, vice president, other senior federal officials and their immediate family members from certain digital asset transactions.

Last week Bankman-Fried lost an appeal in which he argued the original trial denied him a fair chance. Prosecutors had described the FTX collapse and fund diversions as among the largest financial frauds of the past decade.