Allies nervous that Trump is falling for charm offensive of notorious criminal

Disgraced crypto executive Sam Bankman-Fried is betting that Trump's well-documented willingness to pardon allies who lavish praise on his administration will extend to him, even as influential Republicans urge the president to reject his bid for freedom.

Bankman-Fried, 32, is currently serving a 25-year sentence handed down in March 2024 for orchestrating a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme through his now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

According to Politico, the jailed executive's legal team is aggressively lobbying Trump and his crypto-friendly inner circle for a pardon — a move that's already drawing pushback from Republicans who built their political brands on cryptocurrency advocacy.

"The guy's a piece of s--t," said Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), a longtime crypto enthusiast who has championed industry-friendly legislation. "The guy shouldn't be pardoned. The guy should go to jail for a long, long time."

From behind bars, Bankman-Fried has mounted a calculated charm offensive on X. His account has lauded the Trump administration's drug pricing initiative, praised Trump's economic stewardship, and positioned the president as crypto's savior. He's also given a jailhouse interview to Tucker Carlson, where he blamed his conviction on "Biden's lawfare machine," drawing a parallel to the federal indictments Trump faced after leaving office.

"I hope the president doesn't fall for that," said Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Wyoming Republican known as the Senate's "crypto queen." "He hurt a lot of people. He should have to spend some time contemplating that."

Rep. Mike Flood of Nebraska, a rising Republican voice on the House Financial Services Committee, expressed disbelief at the brazenness of Bankman-Fried's pardon campaign.

"He crashed the car, man. He engaged in massive fraud," he said. "Wall Street's not needing him back to fix any problems. He helped us identify a problem by committing a massive amount of fraud — and we rewarded him with a long stay in a federal prison."

Trump has already demonstrated a willingness to pardon controversial crypto figures. He granted clemency to Changpeng Zhao, former CEO of the crypto exchange Binance, who pleaded guilty in 2023 to money laundering-related charges.

On his second day back in office, Trump also fulfilled a campaign promise by freeing Ross Ulbricht, founder of the dark web marketplace Silk Road.

Still, a pardon for Bankman-Fried faces long odds. Trump told The New York Times in January he has no plans to pardon Bankman-Fried, with no indication his stance has shifted. That said, the aggressive lobbying campaign reflects a broader pattern: Trump has handed out pardons to numerous white-collar criminals, many of whom orchestrated costly influence operations. The White House declined to comment on whether a Bankman-Fried pardon remains a possibility.

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