A pair of senators who have been key in negotiating cryptocurrency legislation are urging President Donald Trump not to pardon jailed former exec Sam Bankman-Fried.
On Wednesday, Sens. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo, and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., introduced a four-page resolution "expressing the sense of the Senate that under no circumstances should Samuel Bankman-Fried receive executive clemency."
Bankman-Fried ran crypto exchange FTX and founded the hedge fund Alameda Research. In November 2022, FTX filed for bankruptcy as both began to unravel, as it was revealed that customer assets had been used to support Alameda Research's activities.
Bankman-Fried was convicted in November 2023 by a New York jury on all seven counts related to defrauding FTX customers, lenders, and investors. Prosecutors described the scheme as likely the largest financial fraud of the past decade.
"He had his day in court," Lummis said in a statement. "A jury didn't buy the act, and a judge gave him 25 years for a reason. Mr. Bankman-Fried can spend that time chasing clemency he hasn't earned, or he can finally do something novel and take accountability, but I'm certainly not interested in helping him avoid responsibility."
