Sam Bankman‑Fried has once again publicly courted President Donald Trump — this time by praising the president’s strikes on Iran — a move that many observers read as an effort to win clemency.
Posting on X through a proxy using prison‑approved communications, the former FTX CEO described the strikes as a necessary step to reduce nuclear risk and sharply degrade Iran’s military capacity. The message continues a recent pattern of pro‑Trump commentary from Bankman‑Fried, who is serving a 25‑year sentence for fraud.
Earlier posts from him argued that gas prices have been lower under Trump than in the Biden era and credited Trump with “saving” the SEC by replacing chair Gary Gensler with Paul Atkins — a change Bankman‑Fried said eased regulatory pressure on crypto firms and reduced inter‑agency conflict. Those statements have renewed speculation that his public alignment with the president is aimed at securing a pardon; presidential clemency has in the past extended to high‑profile financial cases, and the article cites the 2025 pardon of Ross Ulbricht as a recent example of such intervention.
Bankman‑Fried’s outreach comes as the fallout from FTX’s collapse continues to play out. The FTX Recovery Trust this week announced a roughly $2.2 billion distribution to creditors as part of the Chapter 11 process — a step that moves many claim classes close to full repayment. Still, the damage from the 2022 collapse is deep: millions of customers temporarily lost access to funds, market confidence was shaken, prices and firms suffered, and regulators moved to tighten oversight. The case remains a cautionary touchstone for crypto risk.
Legally, Bankman‑Fried remains behind bars and communicates through intermediaries. His lawyers filed a motion for a new trial in February, which the government has opposed. Whether his public endorsements of Trump will influence any future legal or clemency outcomes is uncertain, but they make clear he is trying to shape the narrative outside the courtroom while the unwinding of his former empire continues.
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