White House Shuts Down Trump Pardon Hopes for Sam Bankman-Fried
Sam Bankman-Fried's hopes for a pardon from former President Donald Trump have been dealt a significant blow, according to the White House.
The imprisoned FTX founder had been seen as making a long-shot bid for clemency in recent months, after shifting his public messaging to align with themes commonly associated with Trump and his supporters.
Bankman-Fried's legal team has not commented on the latest signal from the White House, but sources indicate that any prospects for a pardon have been viewed as remote due to his prominence as a major donor to Democratic campaigns and the scale of losses tied to FTX's collapse.
The former CEO is currently serving a 25-year federal prison sentence following his conviction on fraud and conspiracy charges tied to the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges.