The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed S. Res. 772, a bipartisan, nonbinding resolution declaring that convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried should under no circumstances receive a presidential pardon or commutation. Led by Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ruben Gallego, the measure signals strong political resistance to Bankman-Fried's June 2026 clemency petition. Bankman-Fried is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for orchestrating an $8 billion financial fraud.
Senate clemency opposition resolution
- ▪S. Res. 772 was introduced on June 17, 2026, by Senators Ruben Gallego and Cynthia Lummis, and later cosponsored by Senator Bernie Moreno on July 14, 2026.
- ▪The United States Senate unanimously approved S. Res. 772, a nonbinding resolution opposing any presidential pardon or commutation of sentence for FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
FTX collapse mechanics
- ▪FTX collapsed in November 2022 after CoinDesk published Alameda Research's balance sheet, revealing that the trading firm's assets were heavily backed by FTT, a token created by FTX.
- ▪The collapse of FTX was accelerated when the cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced plans to sell its FTT holdings, triggering a rapid drop in FTT's price and a rush of customer withdrawals.
Customer fund misuse
- ▪Sam Bankman-Fried transferred billions of dollars in FTX customer deposits to his trading firm, Alameda Research, to fund speculative trades, venture investments, political donations, and Bahamian real estate.
- ▪FTX's software was configured to exempt Alameda Research from the standard margin rules that would have forced the trading firm to cover its losses.
Bankman-Fried conviction sentence
- ▪Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted by a federal jury in November 2023 on seven criminal counts related to the collapse of FTX and the loss of over $8 billion in customer funds.
- ▪Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison and is not expected to be eligible for release until approximately 2044.
Bipartisan political consensus
- ▪Senator Cynthia Lummis stated that Sam Bankman-Fried had his day in court, while Senator Ruben Gallego publicly demanded that authorities keep him locked up.
- ▪The resolution opposing clemency was led by the top Republican and Democrat of the Senate Banking Committee's digital assets subcommittee, signaling broad bipartisan agreement.
Presidential pardon context
- ▪Sam Bankman-Fried formally applied for executive clemency from President Donald Trump in June 2026, with the request listed as pending in Department of Justice records.
- ▪President Donald Trump stated in January 2026 that he had no plans to pardon Sam Bankman-Fried, despite having previously pardoned other crypto figures including Changpeng Zhao and Ross Ulbricht.
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