FTX Co-founder SBF Seeks Trump Pardon While Pursuing Judicial Appeals
Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), co-founder of FTX, has formally submitted a pardon application to President Trump after serving his sentence, while simultaneously advancing judicial procedures to seek a retrial.
SBF has appealed the conviction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (case number 24-961), and oral arguments have been completed; his mother, Barbara Fried, has filed a motion for reconsideration under Rule 33 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, claiming violations of due process. Currently, the pardon, appeal, and retrial efforts are progressing concurrently, with no final decision yet.
This strategy reflects SBF's legal team's approach of leveraging both executive power and judicial channels to maximize the chances of overturning the 25-year sentence.
Source: Public Information
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SBF's team has continued to challenge the conviction since his sentencing in 2024. This pardon application, along with the appeal and motion for reconsideration, continues their multi-channel pressure strategy, similar to historical cases of white-collar financial criminals seeking administrative relief during presidential transitions. His mother, Barbara Fried, a law professor, is deeply involved in the legal motions.
On the capital front, SBF's remaining resources and network are being invested in multiple lawsuits, using public applications to draw political and media attention. The strategic motive is to leverage the Trump administration's relatively friendly stance towards crypto to seek administrative intervention while retaining the possibility of judicial appeals, creating potential windows for the disposal of FTX's bankruptcy assets and restoring industry confidence.
This aligns with historical cases of pardons post-financial crises and the current shift in crypto regulation from strict enforcement to policy relaxation.
Essentially, this reflects regulatory changes: the parallel pursuit of pardons and judicial avenues accelerates uncertainty in case outcomes, mobilizing political capital towards a few high-impact crypto defendants, further influencing the industry's long-term expectations regarding U.S. regulation and executive power, and promoting the reallocation of crypto capital during this policy window.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
Single-channel approaches can easily be blocked; advancing through multiple channels is the leverage for overturning cases. Most accept judgments and serve sentences, while a few persistently pursue pardons and appeals, with structural opportunities arising from power transition windows. Selling judicial certainty provides temporary peace of mind, while buying multi-channel uncertainty offers potential rebirth; top players always knock on all doors simultaneously.