Former Inmate Speaks Out After Sam Bankman-Fried Files for Trump Pardon
Michael Avenatti, Sam Bankman-Fried’s former jail bunkmate, publicly slammed the FTX founder’s bid for a Trump pardon on Monday, saying SBF refused to just accept accountability and by no means as soon as admitted wrongdoing.
Avenatti posted hours after it grew to become public that Bankman-Fried had formally submitted a pardon utility to the DOJ Office of the Pardon Attorney, escalating his long-shot marketing campaign for early launch.
No Accountability from the FTX Founder
Avenatti wrote that the 2 argued repeatedly inside jail about Bankman-Fried’s refusal to acknowledge his crimes. Not as soon as, he mentioned, did SBF admit he had finished something fallacious.
Avenatti argued that with out that acknowledgment, Bankman-Fried couldn’t legitimately earn a pardon.
The assertion carries uncommon credibility. As a fellow convicted fraudster who shared a cell with Bankman-Fried, Avenatti spoke from direct private statement relatively than outdoors commentary.
SBF’s formal pardon filing caps months of pro-Trump social media posts and jail interviews. Bankman-Fried has maintained his innocence, arguing FTX confronted a liquidity disaster relatively than deliberate fraud.
Courts found him guilty in November 2023 of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy, and a decide sentenced him to 25 years, plus $11 billion in forfeiture, in March 2024.
Why Avenatti’s Sentence Puts SBF’s Pardon in Context
Avenatti himself served time for defrauding purchasers. He additionally embezzled roughly $300,000 from Stormy Daniels, the grownup movie actress he as soon as represented as an legal professional. A decide sentenced him to 14 years, later diminished to round 11, and ordered him to repay $7 million.
At his sentencing, Avenatti instructed the court docket he was “deeply remorseful and contrite” and hoped his victims would sometime forgive him.
He transferred to a midway home in April 2026, having served his sentence on the identical facility as Bankman-Fried. SBF’s ongoing conviction appeal, which argues he was presumed responsible earlier than trial, continues on a separate authorized observe.
Why the Pardon Odds Remain Low
Trump ruled out SBF clemency in a January 2026 New York Times interview. Courts have additionally rejected early release requests since his sentencing.
The DOJ will assessment the appliance beneath commonplace procedures, although presidents can act independently of that course of.
While Trump pardoned different crypto figures, together with Ross Ulbricht and Binance’s Changpeng Zhao, SBF’s case has drawn little sympathy from pro-crypto Republicans.
Polymarket places his 2026 pardon odds at simply 7%, and Avenatti’s first-hand account of unrepentant jail conversations offers critics recent ammunition.
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