U.S. Senate has passed a resolution to oppose a pardon for Sam Bankman-Fried

The U.S. Senate has moved to oppose any pardon for disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried from the White House.

A resolution, S. Res. 772, cleared the chamber by unanimous consent on Wednesday, establishing the Senate’s resolve that “under no circumstances” should SBF receive executive clemency, whether a pardon or commutation.

The nonbinding resolution carries no legal weight, nor does it stop the president’s clemency power. However, it puts all 100 senators on record against clemency for Bankman-Fried.

The effort was steered by Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Wyoming Republican, and Sen. Rubén Gallego, an Arizona Democrat.

The senators introduced the motion on June 17, days after Bankman-Fried formally petitioned for a pardon with the White House through the Justice Department’s Pardon Attorney’s Office, Cryptopolitan reported.

Sen. Lummis said SBF was trying to avoid the consequences of his conviction. “SBF has clearly ramped up his pardon campaign, and Senator Lummis wants Fried to know she and her colleagues think he’s right where he belongs,” said a spokesperson for Sen. Lummis’ office.

President Trump has “no intention” to pardon SBF

Sam Bankman-Fried has been lobbying for a presidential pardon over the past year, more especially after President Donald Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) in November.

On June 8, he formally filed a clemency application, despite the president’s having said earlier this year that he had “no intention of pardoning” the convicted FTX founder.

SBF was convicted in November 2023 on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy tied to the 2022 collapse of FTX, which wiped out $183 billion of value across the crypto market. He was sentenced to 25 years.

Prosecutors described the scheme as one of the biggest financial frauds in U.S. history, with FTX customers losing more than $8 billion.

Bankman-Fried will only be eligible for release in 2044.

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