Key Highlights
- President Trump will not pardon Sam Bankman-Fried, as confirmed by the White House.
- Bankman-Fried, jailed for 25 years for FTX fraud, recently tried shifting to a pro-Trump image on social media.
The White House has confirmed that President Donald Trump will not pardon Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the former CEO of FTX, despite his recent pro-Trump posts on social media. This confirmation was first made in January 2026.
Bankman-Fried is currently serving a 25-year federal prison sentence on fraud and related charges connected to the collapse of FTX. The White House stated that Trump has no plan to extend clemency, despite the case’s high-profile nature.
According to a Fortune report, when asked about the recent social media campaign, a White House spokesperson repeated Trump’s January comment, in which the president stated that he did not plan to pardon SBF.
SBF adopts pro-Trump strategy
Bankman-Fried, who was once a major donor to the Democratic Party, has recently attempted to shift his image to appear more conservative on social media to gain Trump’s favor.
In a recent post on X, he criticized Lewis Kaplan, the judge who sentenced him, and expressed admiration for Trump’s stance against what he called partisan institutions. He wrote, “Clinton-appointed Judge Lewis Kaplan made his political bias very clear when sentencing me. I admire @realDonaldTrump for standing up to this ‘partisan and out of control activist’!”
He has also posted messages criticizing the “deep state” and praising Trump, all while trying to show support for conservative ideas.
Just a day ago, Bankman-Fried expressed support for Trump’s healthcare initiative “TrumpRx,” calling it a “huge step in the right direction.” He said that the pharmaceutical companies were “gouging Americans” and said TrumpRX could reduce prescription costs if insurance companies adopt the program.
He also included links to the Truth Social announcement in the post, which came under scrutiny from people who believe his support was not genuine and only aimed to give him a chance for a pardon.
FTX solvency claims and legal issues
While continuing his public campaign, Bankman-Fried has also tried to push a narrative that FTX was always solvent.
He recently shared an excerpt from a court declaration by Dan Chapsky, the former Head of Data Science at FTX, which stated that the FTX branch in the U.S had enough assets to repay customers immediately, despite an $8 billion liquidity shortfall in the international exchange.
Bankman-Fried claims these findings show that collapses were not due to insolvency, which could influence public and legal discussions about responsibility for FTX’s failure.
Despite these efforts, Trump’s refusal to grant a pardon means Bankman-Fried remains incarcerated while pursuing appeals in federal court. SBF has continued posting on social media, including praise platforms like Trust Social and GETTR, highlighting their support for free speech.
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