US President Donald Trump reportedly closed the door on a pardon for Sam Bankman-Fried in January. It spared the convicted founder of FTX, the SBF, two ways to avoid a 25-year prison sentence — an appeal is already working its way through federal court and a motion for a new trial was filed last month. Federal prosecutors just moved to close the second one.
The witnesses were not confidential, the government says
On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that the US Justice Department had urged a federal judge to deny Bankman-Fried’s request for a retrial, arguing that the defense had not come close to clearing legal advantages to win a case.
At the center of the fight is the testimony of two former FTX executives, Ryan Salam and Daniel Chapsky, which they say could have weakened the government’s case against Bankman-Fried at trial.
Prosecutors aren’t buying it. According to court documents cited by Bloomberg, both men were known to the defense long before the trial began in 2023.
🚨 Bloomberg: US prosecutors claim SBF’s review request should be denied
According to Bloomberg, US prosecutors believe that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF)’s request for a review of the case should be rejected because he has not shown any injustice in his sentence. In…
— 0xzx (@0xzxcom) March 12, 2026
Importantly, a defendant seeking a new trial based on the testimony of new witnesses must show that the evidence was actually unknown and not available at the time of the first trial. If the defense previously had access to these witnesses, the dispute would be dismissed as a matter of law.
The SBF filed for a retrial in February, arguing that what Salam and Chapsky can now say undermines the government’s account of FTX’s financial health before the exchange collapses in late 2022.
Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered prosecutors to respond to the request by March 11.
A commandment based on fraud and treachery
A jury in November 2023 found SBF guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. The charges stemmed from the misappropriation of client funds at FTX and its trading subsidiary, Alameda Research.
The FTX explosion wiped out billions of dollars from customers worldwide and sent shock waves through the crypto industry.
While Bankman-Fried is pursuing legal relief through the courts, her public comments have taken a different tack.
Reports show that he praised Trump’s stance on crypto in social media posts on February 1, prompting speculation that he is fighting for political interference. Trump has reportedly said he has no plans to pardon him.
The court considers the options SBF narrow
Several of Bankman-Fried’s closest associates accepted plea deals and testified against him. Their accounts painted a picture of a company where customer money was quietly funneled to Alameda and used for investments, loans and political donations — all without depositors’ knowledge.
The court sentenced Benman-Fried to 25 years in prison after his conviction.
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