Senators Gallego, Lummis oppose SBF pardon in bipartisan resolution
In brief
- Senators Gallego and Lummis introduced a bipartisan resolution opposing clemency for SBF
- Bankman-Fried petitioned the Justice Department this month for a pardon after sentence completion
- Jury convicted him on seven fraud and conspiracy counts; Judge Kaplan sentenced him to 25 years and ordered $11 billion forfeiture
- FTX customers lost over $8 billion in one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history
The Resolution and SBF's Clemency Bid
Bankman-Fried's formal petition to the Office of the Pardon Attorney triggered the lawmakers' response. Both senators emphasized the severity of his crimes and the absence of accountability. Gallego said Bankman-Fried had shown "no remorse" for his crimes. Lummis argued that Bankman-Fried had had his day in court and was "chasing clemency he hasn't earned" rather than taking accountability.
Conviction and Sentencing
A jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict on seven fraud and conspiracy counts against Bankman-Fried in November 2023. Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered a 25-year sentence and $11 billion forfeiture in March 2024. The Second Circuit upheld his conviction and sentence, leaving him ineligible for release until 2044.
FTX customers alone lost more than $8 billion in what prosecutors ranked among the biggest financial frauds in U.S. history. FTX collapsed in November 2022 after a liquidity crisis exposed that customer funds had been diverted to Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried's trading firm.
Trump's Position and Crypto Pardons
President Trump told the New York Times in January that he had no plans to grant clemency to Bankman-Fried. Yet Trump has already pardoned other crypto figures including Ross Ulbricht, Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Changpeng Zhao. The Gallego-Lummis resolution aims to put the Senate on record that Bankman-Fried's case stands apart—a fraud of historic scale with no path to clemency.
