Samourai co-founder claims Biden-era lawfare in calling for Trump pardon

cointelegraphPublicado a 2025-12-19Actualizado a 2025-12-19

Resumen

Keonne Rodriguez, co-founder of Samourai Wallet, is publicly requesting a pardon from President Donald Trump after pleading guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitter and receiving a five-year sentence. Rodriguez claims his prosecution was "lawfare" by a "weaponized Biden DOJ" with no victims involved. His plea mirrors language used in successful pardon applications, such as those for Silk Road's Ross Ulbricht and former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. Rodriguez expressed hope that Trump, who previously stated he would "take a look" at the case, will view the prosecution as an anti-innovation, anti-American attack and grant him and co-founder William Hill a pardon.

Keonne Rodriguez, who pleaded guilty to one felony count related to his role at Samourai Wallet, is calling on US President Donald Trump to pardon him, citing similar language that has been successful in previous pardon applications.

In a Thursday X post, Rodriguez said he would report to prison on Friday, where he will serve a five-year sentence for operating an illegal money transmitter. The Samourai co-founder claimed there were no “victims” to his crime, and blamed his incarceration on “lawfare perpetrated by a weaponized Biden DOJ.”

In a message tagging Trump, Rodriguez expressed hope that the US president would issue a federal pardon for him and William “Bill” Lonergan Hill, another Samourai executive who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years. Rodriguez blamed “activist judges” for his legal troubles, claiming he was targeted by a “political anti-innovation agenda.”

“I maintain hope that [Trump] is a fair man, a man of the people, who will see this prosecution for what it was: an anti innovation, anti american, attack on the rights and liberties of free people,” said Rodriguez. “I believe his team [...] and others truly want to end the weaponization of the DOJ that the previous administration wielded so effectively [...] I believe he will continue to wield that power for good and pardon me and Bill.”

Related: Samourai Wallet co-founders to now plead guilty to US charges

Rodriguez’s public plea followed Trump's statement that he would “take a look” at a pardon for the Samourai co-founder, claiming that he had no knowledge of the case. It’s unclear whether Rodriguez filed an official application for a pardon or is relying on public statements to get the president’s attention.

Other crypto execs successfully lobbied for a Trump pardon

One of Trump’s first acts as president in January was to issue a pardon for Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who had been serving a life sentence for his role in creating and operating the darknet marketplace.

Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who pleaded guilty to one felony in 2023 related to the exchange’s Anti-Money Laundering program, served four months in prison but also received a pardon from the president. Trump later said he “[knew] nothing about” Zhao when asked about the pardon in a November interview.

Rodguiez’s language addressing Trump mirrored comments from the White House on previous pardons. For example, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was a “weaponization of justice from the previous administration” when the president commuted the sentence of David Gentile, who was convicted of defrauding “thousands of individual investors in a $1.6 billion” scheme in 2024.

Crypto users on Polymarket were not given the choice of betting on the odds of a Trump pardon of Rodriguez as of Friday. At the time of publication, Trump ally Steve Bannon had the highest odds, at 9%.

Magazine: When privacy and AML laws conflict: Crypto projects’ impossible choice

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Preguntas relacionadas

QWhat crime did Keonne Rodriguez plead guilty to and what is his sentence?

AKeonne Rodriguez pleaded guilty to one felony count related to operating an illegal money transmitter and was sentenced to five years in prison.

QWho is the other Samourai executive mentioned in the article and what was his sentence?

AThe other executive is William 'Bill' Lonergan Hill, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison.

QWhich two prominent figures in the crypto space did President Trump previously pardon, as mentioned in the article?

APresident Trump pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and former Binance CEO Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao.

QWhat reason does Rodriguez give for his prosecution, and what does he hope President Trump will do?

ARodriguez blames his prosecution on 'lawfare perpetrated by a weaponized Biden DOJ' and 'activist judges,' and he hopes President Trump will issue a federal pardon for him and his colleague.

QAccording to the article, what was the stated reason for the pardon of David Gentile, as an example of similar language used by the White House?

AThe stated reason for David Gentile's commutation was a 'weaponization of justice from the previous administration.'

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