- Sam Bankman-Fried blames the Biden administration and DOJ, claiming his trial was politically motivated.
- He shares Trump’s frustration with Judge Kaplan, who oversaw both his fraud trial and Trump’s legal battles.
- Despite being a major Democratic donor, SBF now praises Republicans and Elon Musk, calling the GOP “far more reasonable.”
Sam Bankman-Fried isn’t holding back. Locked up and awaiting transfer to federal prison, the disgraced FTX founder has turned his frustration toward the Biden administration, the DOJ, and even the judge who sentenced him. In a recent interview with the New York Sun, he claimed that both he and Donald Trump were victims of a “politicized” justice system.
SBF and Trump: A Common Enemy in Judge Kaplan
During a 45-minute phone call from Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, Bankman-Fried said he shared Trump’s frustrations with U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan—a Bill Clinton appointee who oversaw both his fraud trial and Trump’s legal battles with E. Jean Carroll.
“I know President Trump had a lot of frustrations with Judge Kaplan. I certainly did as well,” SBF stated.
The irony? Trump has the power to pardon him.
Trump, who has repeatedly called Kaplan a “bully” and a “Trump-hating judge”, has clashed with him over multiple high-profile cases, adding an extra layer of political intrigue to SBF’s claims.
Blasting the Biden Administration & the DOJ
Beyond the courtroom, Bankman-Fried took direct aim at Biden’s Justice Department, calling it a hotbed of prosecutorial abuse that unfairly targeted him. He argued that the DOJ’s crackdown on crypto was politically motivated, and that his trial wasn’t fair.
The case against him was led by Danielle Sassoon, a federal prosecutor who ironically was appointed acting U.S. attorney under Trump. She resigned last week after refusing to comply with Trump’s DOJ directive to drop a corruption case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams.
SBF sees this as proof that justice isn’t blind—it’s political.
A Political Chameleon?
Though he was a massive donor to Democrats, SBF insists his Republican ties were deeper than people realized.
- He funneled money into conservative causes that weren’t publicly disclosed.
- He worked behind the scenes with GOP lawmakers more than previously thought.
- He now says he finds the Republican Party “far more reasonable.”
And, if that wasn’t enough, he also praised Elon Musk for helping Trump “shrink the size of the federal government.”
What’s Next for SBF?
SBF is still awaiting transfer to federal prison, where he’ll serve a 25-year sentence for one of the biggest financial frauds in history.
But even from behind bars, he’s still playing the political game—positioning himself as a fallen billionaire who might just find redemption under a Trump presidency.
