The Department of Justice has rejected Sam Bankman-Fried's attempt to reinvent himself as a Republican to escape his 25-year prison sentence for stealing $8 billion from FTX customers. In a motion opposing his request for a new trial, federal prosecutors accused the disgraced crypto founder of executing a pre-planned political strategy from prison. Sean Buckley, an attorney for the government, called Bankman-Fried's MAGA makeover an 'incoherent' attempt at political victimhood.

Prosecutors revealed a Google Document where Bankman-Fried mapped out a 'rehabilitation and pardon campaign' after FTX's collapse, including plans to 'come out as Republican' in a Tucker Carlson interview and use X to push anti-woke narratives. The DOJ noted these tactics were executed 'with near-perfect fidelity,' but Trump officials remain unmoved. The White House previously stated Trump has 'no intention of pardoning Bankman-Fried,' despite similar clemency for other crypto figures.

Buckman-Fried's most offensive argument, according to prosecutors, was claiming FTX customers were made whole through bankruptcy repayments of 119-143% of their losses. Buckley likened this to a 'bank robber' seeking acquittal because stolen funds were eventually recovered. The government argued this is 'factually wrong' since customers never got their actual cryptocurrency back—Bitcoin alone has since quadrupled in value. With a grand jury convicting Bankman-Fried after just five hours of deliberation, the DOJ urged the court to deny his bid entirely, calling the notion he was targeted for Democratic politics 'fanciful.'