Trump Promises to Look Into Jailed Samourai Wallet Founder’s Case

Trump says he will review a pardon for Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would consider pardoning convicted Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez. He made the comment at a White House press conference.

“All right, we’ll see. You know, you’ll have to tell me about this story. I don’t know anything about it, but we’ll see,” the politician said.

In November, a court sentenced the wallet’s creators to prison for laundering more than $237 million. Rodriguez received five years in prison, and his colleague William Lonergan Hill got four.

Prosecutors said they “repeatedly incited, encouraged and urged criminals” to use their platform to conceal illicit funds.

Rodriguez responded to Trump’s remark by thanking the community for its support.

Your continued noise is working. Thank you to everyone pushing @realDonaldTrump to pardon Bill and me. Let’s get this over the line. #pardonsamourai https://t.co/LN3qnksrL5

— Keonne Rodriguez (@keonne) December 15, 2025

“Thank you to everyone pushing Donald Trump to pardon Bill and me. Let’s get this over the line,” he wrote.

Earlier, in an interview with journalist Natalie Brunell, Rodriguez said he believed a pardon was possible if the case reached the U.S. president and key officials in his administration.

I appreciate @keonne taking some tough questions on the Samourai Wallet case. No topic was off limits.

Keonne is getting ready to report to prison on December 19th but there is an active movement to #PardonSamourai, and Keonne hopes President Trump hears his story.

If you care… pic.twitter.com/iXg3BXr8iq

— Natalie Brunell ⚡️ (@natbrunell) December 12, 2025

“Because Trump himself suffered from the Department of Justice being weaponized against him, I think that when he sees the facts laid out on the table, he will immediately understand what is going on,” the developer stressed.

In 2025, the U.S. president pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reed, and former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.

Appeal hurdles

Rodriguez also explained that he lost the right to appeal when he agreed to a plea deal.

“I’m not 100% sure, but as I understand it, an appeal is unlikely,” he added.

Initially, Rodriguez and Hill denied the charges, but in July they struck a plea deal, admitting to one count — operating an unlicensed money-transmission service.

They were pushed to this step by the risk of up to 25 years in prison on two counts — conspiracy to launder money (up to 20 years) and unlicensed activity (up to five years).

Even before sentencing, Rodriguez regretted the decision but felt he had no alternative. He feared the judge would exclude key defence evidence, such as the fact that he sought legal counsel before launching the wallet.

A softer SEC

According to The New York Times, since Trump took office the SEC has paused, ended or closed about 60% of cases against the crypto industry.

Reporters cited lawsuits against major players — Ripple and Binance — and added that the regulator “no longer has any case against a firm with ties” to the U.S. president.

Commission representatives strongly deny any political motive. They say the shift is driven solely by legal and policy considerations. The paper also found no evidence of direct White House pressure on the SEC.

Experts criticised the premise itself. Galaxy Digital’s head of research, Alex Thorn, called the link between the softer stance and Trump’s personal interests “an unfair interpretation”. In his view, the new course is a natural reaction to the previous administration’s “absolutely insane” aggressive policy.

i really want to believe that NYT is trustworthy but that has become nearly impossible

the whole framing of this new crypto story (yet again) relies on the (false) premise that the prior admin’s attack on crypto totally normal

it wasn’t

the attack was widely rebuked for years… pic.twitter.com/18ExmYWj5i

— Alex Thorn (@intangiblecoins) December 14, 2025

A Financial Times investigation found that the U.S. president’s family earned more than $1 billion from crypto projects.