{"id":92246,"date":"2025-12-16T11:11:29","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T08:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=92246"},"modified":"2025-12-16T16:45:28","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T13:45:28","slug":"trump-to-review-case-of-convicted-samourai-wallet-co-founder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/trump-to-review-case-of-convicted-samourai-wallet-co-founder\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Promises to Look Into Jailed Samourai Wallet Founder&#8217;s Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>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.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"LIVE: President Trump Participates in a Mexican Border Defense Medal Presentation - 12\/15\/25\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EfAbtXzo8Zk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cAll right, we\u2019ll see. You know, you\u2019ll have to tell me about this story. I don\u2019t know anything about it, but we\u2019ll see,\u201d the politician said.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In November, a court <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/samourai-wallet-founders-accused-of-deliberate-money-laundering\">sentenced<\/a> the wallet\u2019s creators to prison for laundering more than $237 million. Rodriguez received five years in prison, and his colleague William Lonergan Hill got four.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors said they \u201crepeatedly incited, encouraged and urged criminals\u201d to use their platform to conceal illicit funds.<\/p>\n<p>Rodriguez responded to Trump\u2019s remark by thanking the community for its support.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Your continued noise is working. Thank you to everyone pushing <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@realDonaldTrump<\/a> to pardon Bill and me. Let&#8217;s get this over the line. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/pardonsamourai?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#pardonsamourai<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LN3qnksrL5\">https:\/\/t.co\/LN3qnksrL5<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Keonne Rodriguez (@keonne) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/keonne\/status\/2000679933354328441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 15, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cThank you to everyone pushing Donald Trump to pardon Bill and me. Let\u2019s get this over the line,\u201d he wrote.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I appreciate <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/keonne?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@keonne<\/a> taking some tough questions on the Samourai Wallet case. No topic was off limits.<\/p>\n<p>Keonne is getting ready to report to prison on December 19th but there is an active movement to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PardonSamourai?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#PardonSamourai<\/a>, and Keonne hopes President Trump hears his story.<\/p>\n<p>If you care\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iXg3BXr8iq\">pic.twitter.com\/iXg3BXr8iq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Natalie Brunell \u26a1\ufe0f (@natbrunell) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/natbrunell\/status\/1999484445502357926?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 12, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cBecause 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,\u201d the developer stressed.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In 2025, the U.S. president pardoned Silk Road founder <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/donald-trump-pardons-ross-ulbricht\">Ross Ulbricht<\/a>, BitMEX co-founders <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/trump-pardons-bitmex-co-founders-reports-say\">Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reed<\/a>, and former Binance CEO <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/donald-trump-pardons-binance-founder\">Changpeng Zhao<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Appeal hurdles<\/h2>\n<p>Rodriguez also explained that he lost the right to appeal when he agreed to a plea deal.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cI\u2019m not 100% sure, but as I understand it, an appeal is unlikely,\u201d he added.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Initially, Rodriguez and Hill denied the charges, but in July they <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/samourai-wallet-founders-admit-to-money-laundering-charges\">struck a plea deal<\/a>, admitting to one count \u2014 operating an unlicensed money-transmission service.<\/p>\n<p>They were pushed to this step by the risk of up to 25 years in prison on two counts \u2014 conspiracy to launder money (up to 20 years) and unlicensed activity (up to five years).<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A softer SEC<\/h2>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/12\/14\/us\/politics\/times-sec-cryptocurrency-analysis.html\">The New York Times<\/a>, since Trump took office the <span data-descr=\"U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission\" class=\"old_tooltip\">SEC<\/span> has paused, ended or closed about 60% of cases against the crypto industry.<\/p>\n<p>Reporters cited lawsuits against major players \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/sec-and-ripple-conclude-legal-battle-xrp-price-rises-by-11\">Ripple<\/a> and Binance \u2014 and added that the regulator \u201cno longer has any case against a firm with ties\u201d to the U.S. president.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Experts criticised the premise itself. Galaxy Digital\u2019s head of research, Alex Thorn, called the link between the softer stance and Trump\u2019s personal interests \u201can unfair interpretation\u201d. In his view, the new course is a natural reaction to the previous administration\u2019s \u201cabsolutely insane\u201d aggressive policy.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">i really want to believe that NYT is trustworthy but that has become nearly impossible<\/p>\n<p>the whole framing of this new crypto story (yet again) relies on the (false) premise that the prior admin\u2019s attack on crypto totally normal<\/p>\n<p>it wasn\u2019t<\/p>\n<p>the attack was widely rebuked for years\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/18ExmYWj5i\">pic.twitter.com\/18ExmYWj5i<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Alex Thorn (@intangiblecoins) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intangiblecoins\/status\/2000334663479447557?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>A Financial Times investigation <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/trump-family-amasses-over-1-billion-from-cryptocurrency-ventures\">found<\/a> that the U.S. president\u2019s family earned more than $1 billion from crypto projects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Donald Trump said he would consider pardoning convicted Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":92247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"Trump says he will review a pardon for Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez.","creation_source":"ai_translated","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[991,1512,26],"class_list":["post-92246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-donald-trump","tag-samourai-wallet","tag-usa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"193","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"Trump says he will review a pardon for Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez.","is_update":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92246"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92275,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92246\/revisions\/92275"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}