In a January 9th interview with The New York Times , US President Trump was asked whether he was considering pardoning several high-profile figures, including former FTX founder SBF, who is currently serving a prison sentence. Trump explicitly stated that there are currently no plans to pardon him, effectively denying speculation that SBF was seeking a political pardon.
A two-hour interview with Trump, where he responded to questions about the candidates on the pardon list one by one.
In addition to discussing issues such as foreign policy and the judiciary, Trump was also directly asked by the media whether he would use his presidential pardon power to pardon some figures who are of great public interest.
The list of names included former cryptocurrency exchange FTX founder SBF, former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, former New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, and Sean Combs, among others. Trump responded to each name individually, with his stance on SBF being the most explicit.
Trump has explicitly refused, and currently has no plans to pardon SBF.
When directly asked whether he would pardon SBF, Trump stated clearly in the interview that there were currently no plans to pardon him. This response was seen as indicating that the White House was not currently considering SBF for pardon. Previous reports had indicated that SBF and his supporters had tried various channels to secure a pardon, but Trump's statement in this interview was quite explicit.
Frequently posting on social media to boost one's presence still doesn't increase the chances of being pardoned.
Despite the SBF's active efforts to secure Trump's release, it is widely believed that the chances are slim, given that he donated $5.2 million to the Democratic campaign for Joe Biden during the 2020 election, making him one of the major donors at the time.
In recent months, SBF has become active on Twitter (X), repeatedly asserting through his agent that FTX was still solvent at the time of its collapse and accusing the liquidation team of "mismanaging or delaying the release of funds." These claims continue to appear in his recent posts. Meanwhile, on the two prediction market platforms Polymarket and Kalshi, only one bet remains related to SBF's release, indicating that market expectations for his imminent pardon or early release have clearly cooled.
(SBF posts praise for the release of former Honduran president, still seeking Trump's pardon)
This article, which discusses Trump's lack of intention to pardon former FTX founder SBF and the fact that only one betting account remains for Polymarket and Kalshi, first appeared on ABMedia, a ABMedia .
