BeInCrypto previously reported that former FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been the subject of attention for potentially being released early.
Tweets from individuals like Musk suggest that this possibility is quite high.
So, what are the chances that the FTX founder could leave prison less than a year after his conviction?
In 2020, at the peak of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried donated $5.2 million to a super PAC supporting Biden. He was the second-largest individual donor to the Democratic Party, behind Michael Bloomberg.
Historically, political donors and their affiliates have had a significant advantage in matters of conviction and clemency.
Take Marc Rich, for example; this 'notorious' oil trader evaded taxes of at least $50 million as early as 2021. However, Rich was pardoned on the last day of Clinton's presidency.
The controversy surrounding the pardon stems from the fact that Rich's ex-wife, Denise, was a major donor to the Democrats. She made substantial donations to Clinton's presidential library and the Democratic National Committee.
Similarly, Paul Pogue is another convicted tax fraudster who was pardoned by Trump in 2020. Reports say this was because Pogue's family donated over $200,000 to Trump's campaign.
Prediction market participants Kalshi posted on X, "Sam Bankman-Fried used stolen millions of customer funds to finance political activities."
"SBF donated nearly all of his funds to the Democrats (98%), making him the second-largest donor to the Democratic Party, and now Biden has a 12% chance of pardoning him."
Given the historical cases where political donors are more likely to receive leniency, the controversy over the possibility of Sam Bankman-Fried being pardoned by Biden is also understandable.
Additionally, Biden pardoned Michael Conahan last week.
Conahan was sentenced to 17 years in prison for a scandal involving 'trading children for money.' He accepted bribes from private juvenile detention centers in exchange for sending children to those centers often for minor offenses.
This is a specific indication that Biden may not shy away from pardoning serious criminals.
One of the most controversial points in Bankman-Fried's trial was that the government overlooked the charges related to campaign finance.
Initially, Bankman-Fried faced eight criminal charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and violating campaign finance laws.
However, this campaign finance charge was dropped in July 2023.
The charges against Bankman-Fried were initially dropped due to a treaty obligation with the Bahamas. Essentially, the Bahamian government opposed the inclusion of this specific charge in the extradition request.
However, prosecutors claim they will pursue separate trials for these charges.
The aim of the second trial is to address the dropped campaign finance charges, along with some charges related to bribery and operating an unlicensed remittance business.
However, in December 2023, prosecutors announced they would not proceed with the second trial, as the evidence for the second trial would largely repeat what had already been presented in the first trial.
Earlier this year, Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison for multiple counts of telecom fraud and other charges.
However, given the scale and impact of his crimes, many believe the sentence was too lenient.
The collapse of FTX resulted in losses of over $16 billion for customers and creditors, and the crypto asset winter also cost the market over $100 billion. Therefore, as one of the largest financial scandals in U.S. history, many consider this sentencing to be lenient.
Prominent attorney Richard W. Painter wrote, "Sam Bankman-Fried and his accomplices hope to receive pardons or reduced sentences in exchange for the campaign donations they stole from FTX investors. Any president who agrees to do so should be impeached for bribery."
Prosecutors initially sought a 50-year sentence, arguing that Sam Bankman-Fried's crimes were 'historic' in scope and severity.
Prosecutors emphasized the immense financial losses suffered by FTX customers and the public's diminished trust in the crypto asset market.
Additionally, Caroline Ellison, who actively took customer funds from FTX and Bankman-Fried, was sentenced to only 2 years in prison due to her cooperation with prosecutors.
Most surprisingly, Gary Wang, the coder who provided unlimited credit to Alameda, completely avoided prison time.
Given these facts, and the critics' belief that the sentencing was too lenient, the crypto asset industry clearly anticipates that Sam Bankman-Fried may receive leniency.
However, it is important to note that the connection between donations and pardons is not always consistent.
The president may grant clemency for other reasons, and it is difficult to definitively prove that donations were the sole or primary motivating factor.
But it is certain that cases of the wealthy escaping legal troubles through political donations will inevitably raise moral concerns.