Senate votes unanimously against a Bankman-Fried pardon

The U.S. Senate has formally gone on record against clemency for Sam Bankman-Fried. On Wednesday the chamber approved a bipartisan resolution by unanimous consent stating that "under no circumstances" should the convicted FTX founder receive executive clemency — a pardon or a commutation — while affirming what the measure calls the Senate's commitment to the rule of law and the integrity of the financial system, according to the Senate Press Gallery, as reported by The Block.

The resolution, introduced June 17 by Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), followed Bankman-Fried's petition earlier that month for a presidential pardon. Lummis said he was trying to avoid the consequences of his conviction; Gallego said he had "shown no remorse" and continued to cast himself as a victim.

A jury convicted Bankman-Fried in November 2023 on seven criminal counts tied to FTX's collapse. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Federal prosecutors described the case as one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history, putting American customer losses at more than $8 billion.

The resolution is non-binding. It expresses the Senate's opinion and carries no legal force — the presidential pardon power under Article II is not something Congress can vote away. What the measure does is raise the political cost of a pardon and put every senator on record.

Key facts

• The Senate approved the anti-clemency resolution by unanimous consent on Wednesday, July 15, 2026 (Senate Press Gallery, via The Block).
• Sponsors: Sens. Cynthia Lummis and Ruben Gallego; introduced June 17, 2026, after SBF petitioned for a pardon earlier that month (The Block).
• Convicted November 2023 on seven counts; sentenced to 25 years; prosecutors cited more than $8 billion in customer losses (The Block, citing federal prosecutors).
• President Trump said in January he had no plans to pardon Bankman-Fried (The Block).
• SBF withdrew a motion for a new trial, telling Judge Lewis Kaplan he did not expect a "fair hearing"; the motion had been filed in March by his mother, Barbara Fried (The Block).

The real-world read

Watch the gap between the vote and the man's own posture. Bankman-Fried, per The Block, still argues FTX and Alameda were never insolvent and could have met withdrawals after the November 2022 run — a claim squarely at odds with the fraud verdict and the $8 billion shortfall prosecutors described. A unanimous, bipartisan Senate isn't a common sight; that it lined up here signals how little appetite there is in Washington to relitigate FTX. But note what the resolution can and can't do: it's a statement, not a statute. The pardon power sits with the president, and Trump's January "no plans" is not a binding commitment. The vote pressures; it does not prevent.

Opinion, and whose

Lummis and Gallego frame SBF as unrepentant and consequence-dodging — their characterizations, made in support of their own resolution. Bankman-Fried's insolvency denials are his own, and contradict the jury's findings.

Sources

• The Block (Brian Danga), reporting the vote and citing the Senate Press Gallery for the resolution's text and timing, and federal prosecutors for the loss figure — reputable secondary source; the primary documents (the resolution, court filings) are referenced through it, not seen directly. The Block discloses Foresight Ventures as majority investor; this story carries no evident conflict.

Not financial or legal advice.