SBF's Political Pivot: From Center-Left to Right, Pardon Hopes Fade

Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced former CEO of FTX, has been making headlines for his political leanings while behind bars. In an interview with The New York Sun, SBF revealed a shift in his political stance, moving from a center-left position to a more right-leaning perspective. He attributed this change to his frustration with the Biden administration and the Democratic Party, which he found to be "incredibly destructive and difficult to work with."

SBF's political donations have been a topic of discussion, with reports indicating that he contributed roughly $40 million directly to political candidates and PACs in 2022. His goal was to influence US government policies on crypto. This comes as his parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, are pushing for a pardon from former Republican President Donald Trump.

Despite SBF's political shift and his parents' efforts, the chances of a pardon seem slim. On March 28, 2024, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan sentenced SBF to 25 years in prison for his role in the collapse of the FTX exchange. The judge described SBF's behavior during the trial as "evasive" and "hair-splitting," stating that he had never seen such a performance in his nearly 30-year career.

William Livolsi, executive director of the White Collar Support Group, an organization advocating for balanced sentences, believes that SBF's chances of obtaining a pardon are slim. He pointed out that the presidential pardon of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht was a high-profile campaign promise made by President Donald Trump during the 2024 election, a luxury that SBF does not have. Additionally, the differences between the individual cases and the extremely harsh sentence imposed on Ross Ulbricht differentiate the two situations.