Sam Bankman Fried empathizes and seeks clemency with President Donald Trump regarding legal convictions

Sam Bankman Fried maintains his innocence and claims that his conviction was a result of political bias.

He claimed that his case had been unfairly handled in an interview with The New York Sun and that his legal problems were due to his changing political views.

This interview was conducted less than a week after FTX started to reimburse customers who were affected by the collapse of November 2022.

FTX’s liquidity issues

Bankman-Fried maintains that FTX has never been insolvent, despite receiving a sentence of 25 years in prison for orchestrating what is considered one of the biggest financial frauds ever committed in US History. He said that the exchange had a liquidity crisis rather than a complete collapse.

According to him

“I think the single biggest thing is that FTX was never insolvent. It never went bankrupt. Alameda was not either. They always had enough cash to cover all their liabilities. What happened was a liquidity crisis, a run on the bank.”

He said before the exchange collapsed, in November 2022 FTX had a positive net value of around $10 billion. Plus, an additional $20 in equity.

Bankman-Fried also pointed out that Alameda Research had already begun liquidating assets to cover liabilities, but the panic-driven withdrawals outpaced the firm’s ability to generate cash quickly.

The convicted FTX founder also accused law firm Sullivan & Cromwell of mishandling the exchange’s restructuring. He said that instead of resolving this crisis, the law firm held back efforts to reimburse customers.

Bankman-Fried said:

“A law firm took over the company and, you know, spent the next two years sort of twiddling its thumbs and pretending there is no money left.”

Political Retaliation

The former billionaire thinks his legal troubles are due to political motivations. He argued FTX executives cooperating with authorities were given lighter sentences due to their ties with the Democratic Party.

Before his downfall, Bankman-Fried was one of the largest donors to President Joe Biden’s campaign. However, he claims his political stance shifted due to the administration’s hostile regulatory approach to digital assets.

He said:

“I was really disappointed and frustrated with the Biden Administration and the Democratic Party. Particularly on crypto policy, the Biden administration was just incredibly destructive and difficult to work with.”

However, he noted that the Republicans were more receptive and that he had secretly contributed to the party’s causes—a fact he believes may have influenced his prosecution.

Trump: Cozy up to him

Bankman-Fried further likened his prosecution to what President Donald Trump has faced, describing both cases as examples of the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) politicization.

The FTX founder pointed to US District Judge Lewis Kaplan as a common adversary in his and Trump’s cases. Kaplan presided over Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial and Trump’s sexual abuse and defamation cases involving writer E. Jean Carroll for which he was found liable.

He said:

“I know President Trump had a lot of frustrations with Judge Kaplan. I certainly did as well.”

Trump has called Kaplan biased in the past. With Trump’s return to office, Bankman-Fried’s remarks appear to signal an attempt to align himself with the president, who can grant pardons.

Reports indicate that his parents have also been working hard to secure a clemency. His allegations of political persecution and injustice add to speculation about his hopes for clemency in a Trump administration.