Clemency Petitions On The Rise Following Ross Ulbricht Pardon
More white-collar inmates, including former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, are applying for clemency following the election of US President Donald Trump. However, analysts believe that his chances remain low due to a growing pardon line and politics.
William Livolsi, the White Collar Support Group’s executive director, observes that clemency petitions succeed on political ties and not necessarily on merit.
Trump’s recent pardon of Ross Ulbricht, the Silk Road darknet marketplace creator, fueled speculation that SBF’s parents were also seeking a similar fate. Livolsi, however, notes that their cases are very different, especially given that Ulbricht’s clemency was a direct campaign promise.
No Clear Clemency Process
Petitions for clemency are handled by the Office of the Pardon Attorney, but in practice, despite its formal procedure, actual results are subject to whim. With a backlog of roughly 10,000, grants come seldom and are more the result of politics than any systematic review process.
Presidents are likely to bypass the pardon office in favor of politically motivated choices, according to Livolsi. “It’s more who you know than an equitable, orderly process,” he said.
This reality upsets many in the White Collar Support Group, which has over 1,100 members seeking post-conviction relief. Whether Trump or Biden is president, clemency is rarely on a merit-based, transparent path.
Prison Often Means Debanking
Even if individuals get out of prison, reentry into the financial sector is an issue. Ross Ulbricht, for instance, was the target of a gargantuan Bitcoin fundraising effort, but most offenders are not.
All but a few find severe debanking problems, including closure of their accounts, denial of credit cards, and blacklisting. Livolsi terms this a “huge issue that doesn’t get enough attention.” Some states provide consumer protection, but there are no federal safeguards against financial exclusion.
The White Collar Support Group has started the Right to Banking Initiative, which aims to enable ex-offenders to gain access to banking services, regardless of past offenses.
While SBF’s hopes of clemency remain, according to experts, without strong political backing, they are slim. For most white-collar inmates, financial and legal struggles persist years after their prison release.
