Pardon: Kennedy Grills Atkins on SBF
In a tense exchange at the Senate Banking Committee’s nomination hearing on March 27th, US Senator John Kennedy put prospective Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Paul Atkins on the spot, demanding answers about a possible pardon for Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried.
The Louisiana Republican didn’t stop there. He launched a series of questions at Atkins specifically about the disgraced former FTX CEO, and even dug into donations made by Bankman-Fried’s family to Stanford University.
Senator John Kennedy questions prospective SEC chairman Paul Atkins. Source: Senate Banking Committee
Kennedy didn’t just ask questions; he pressed Atkins to commit to SEC action to block any potential pardon for SBF. He emphasized his point with a strong statement:
“There should not be two standards of law and punishment for people in America. And every time you come to this committee, I am going to pounce on you like a ninja to find out what the SEC has done because I don’t think the SEC has done a damn thing.”
The Senator continued, making his feelings crystal clear: “I read in the paper that the Bankman-Frieds were trying to get a pardon. They are crooks, and I expect the SEC to do something about it.”
Adding fuel to the fire, reports surfaced in January suggesting that SBF’s parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, were actively seeking a presidential pardon for their son. This came on the heels of newly-elected US President Donald Trump’s controversial pardon of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht.
Paul Atkins answers questions at his nomination hearing. Source: Senate Banking Committee
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Presidential pardon “unlikely” for SBF
Experts like William Livolsi, executive director of the White Collar Support Group, believe a presidential pardon for SBF is a long shot, pointing to key differences between his situation and that of the Silk Road founder.
Livolsi explained that Ulbricht’s case involved charges related to operating a contraband marketplace – often considered ‘victimless’ crimes – a stark contrast to SBF’s case, which involves billions in investor losses.
Furthermore, Livolsi highlighted that the extremely severe sentence handed down to Ulbricht – two life sentences plus 40 years without parole – combined with then-candidate Trump’s public promise to pardon him, created a unique set of circumstances that simply don’t apply to SBF.
Tucker Carlson interviews SBF from prison. Source: Tucker Carlson
Despite the slim chances of a pardon, SBF has apparently been trying to improve his image and appeal to Republican circles. He’s given several interviews to independent media outlets, including a chat with The New York Sun in February and a more recent sit-down with Tucker Carlson earlier this month.
However, the Carlson interview backfired. Prison authorities hadn’t approved it, and as a result, SBF reportedly landed in solitary confinement after the interview and was subsequently transferred from a New York prison facility to one in Oklahoma.
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