US lawmakers warn against presidential pardon for Sam Bankman-Fried
Two US lawmakers on opposite sides of the political aisle are backing a resolution that “under no circumstances should Samuel [SBF] Bankman-Fried receive executive clemency, including a pardon or commutation.”
In a resolution to be introduced Wednesday, Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis and Democratic Senator Rubén Gallego warned that should US President Donald Trump grant SBF’s request for a pardon, it would “erase [his] conviction […] weaken deterrence, and send a deeply damaging message that perpetrators of large-scale financial fraud can escape permanent accountability.” The resolution would be non-binding, as a US president’s pardon power is enshrined in the Constitution.
“[The US Senate] affirms that the 25-year sentence imposed upon Bankman-Fried reflects the extraordinary scale and deliberateness of his crimes, his lack of remorse, and the catastrophic harm inflicted upon millions of victims, and that such a sentence serves the interests of justice,” read the resolution.