Sam Bankman-Fried, the convicted cryptocurrency fraudster, is the subject of an ongoing, and likely long-shot, campaign to secure a pardon from former President Donald Trump. This effort, according to six sources familiar with the matter, involves a multi-pronged approach: enlisting lawyers with ties to Trump, reaching out to Washington lobbyists, and even sitting for an interview likely intended to be favorable with Tucker Carlson.
The driving force behind this initiative is a small group of Bankman-Fried’s supporters, including his parents, Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried. They are attempting to help their son avoid the 25-year prison sentence he received following his conviction on multiple counts of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering related to the collapse of his crypto exchange, FTX.
While there is no indication that the Bankmans and their allies have directly engaged with Trump or his White House advisors concerning a potential pardon, the strategy appears designed to capitalize on the former president’s established pattern of transactional clemency. Trump has, throughout his presidency, shown a willingness to pardon individuals with personal or professional connections to him, particularly those who echo his own grievances regarding perceived prosecutorial misconduct.
As part of this effort, Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried, both Stanford University law professors and long-time Democratic donors, are consulting with Kory Langhofer, an Arizona lawyer who worked on Trump’s 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns. Additionally, intermediaries claiming to represent Bankman-Fried have contacted politically connected businesspeople and Washington lobbyists, according to three sources.
