The Senate delivered a sharp bipartisan rebuke Wednesday, unanimously passing a resolution declaring that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried should not receive a presidential pardon. The move comes weeks after Bankman-Fried formally requested clemency from the Trump administration, seeking to overturn his 25-year prison sentence for defrauding customers of his now-collapsed cryptocurrency exchange.
The resolution, advanced via unanimous consent, was spearheaded by Senators Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), both of whom have been deeply involved in crafting legislation to regulate the crypto industry. Their joint effort underscores the bipartisan disdain for Bankman-Fried's conduct and his audacious bid for a pardon.
“It should not be considered controversial to say that someone like Sam Bankman-Fried — a fraudster who was convicted by a unanimous jury — should not be allowed to walk away scot-free,” Gallego said in a statement. “That’s exactly what the Senate affirmed when they passed my resolution. Bankman-Fried stole billions from hardworking Americans. He’s a criminal who deserves to stay locked up.”
Bankman-Fried, once hailed as a titan of the crypto world, saw his empire crumble in late 2022 when FTX imploded amid revelations that he had misappropriated customer deposits to fund lavish personal expenses, political donations, and speculative ventures. A jury found him guilty on multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy in 2023, and a judge handed down a 25-year sentence earlier this year.
The request for a pardon, submitted to the White House in early June, drew immediate backlash from lawmakers and victims alike. The New York Times reported last year that Bankman-Fried had been quietly lobbying President Trump for clemency, hoping to leverage political connections to escape accountability.
Lummis, in a statement last month when the resolution was first introduced, did not mince words. “Sam Bankman-Fried didn’t lose other people’s billions, he took them and used them to fund his lavish lifestyle, and now he wants a presidential pardon to shield him from the consequences of his own actions,” she said. “He had his day in court. A jury didn’t buy his act, and a judge gave him 25 years for a reason. Mr. Bankman-Fried can spend that time chasing clemency he hasn’t earned, or he can finally do something novel and take accountability, but I’m certainly not interested in helping him avoid responsibility.”
The resolution carries no binding legal force, but it sends a powerful political signal to the White House. It also aligns with a broader pattern of congressional resistance to presidential pardons in high-profile cases. Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled that Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons did not shield a pipe bomb suspect from prosecution, underscoring the limits of executive clemency.
Bankman-Fried’s case remains a cautionary tale for the crypto industry, which has struggled to shed its reputation for recklessness and fraud. The Senate’s unanimous vote suggests that, at least for now, there is little appetite in Congress for letting the disgraced founder off the hook.
