Trump weighs pardon for Samourai founder with just four days before prison

President Donald Trump announced Monday that he plans to examine a possible pardon for Keonne Rodriguez, the founder of Samourai Wallet.

Speaking with reporters during a question-and-answer session at the Oval Office, Trump acknowledged the request. “I’ve heard about it, I’ll look at it,” the president said. He then asked Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was there at the time, to review the matter. “I don’t know anything about it, but we’ll take a look,” he added.

Founders face money laundering charges

Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill launched Samourai Wallet, a bitcoin wallet designed with privacy features. The wallet included a crypto mixing service that made it difficult to trace where money came from or where it went during transactions.

The Justice Department arrested both men during Joe Biden’s time as president. They faced charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and running a money-transmitting business without proper licenses. Federal prosecutors claimed Rodriguez and Hill encouraged people to use Samourai to clean millions of dollars gained through illegal activities.

Last month, Rodriguez got five years in prison for running Samourai with the mixing feature that authorities said helped wash millions in dirty money. Hill, who worked as chief technology officer, received four years.

The president’s remarks about the Samourai case come after he pardoned Ross Ulbricht, who started Silk Road, a marketplace on the darknet. Ulbricht had been serving two life sentences for running the site that allowed people to buy drugs and other banned items and services. Silk Road used bitcoin for payments and helped make the digital currency more popular.

People in the bitcoin community who pushed for Ulbricht’s pardon are now doing the same for the Samourai founders and developers behind Tornado Cash, another mixing service for cryptocurrency.

In October, Trump also pardoned Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the former head of Binance, saying the Biden administration’s “war against crypto” was over. Critics questioned the decision, especially after Trump told CBS he didn’t know who Zhao was. The White House later clarified that he meant he had never met him in person.

Rodriguez responded to Trump

Rodriguez posted a response on X following Trump’s comments. “I have always said that the most challenging aspect of getting a pardon for me and Bill would be getting the attention of [Donald Trump],” he wrote. “[President Trump] knows all about a weaponized Biden DOJ hunting down their political rivals … If he looks at our case closely it will be a case of deja vu, and I think he would do the right thing and grant us a pardon.”

Rodriguez thanked Trump and supporters who backed his pardon request. He mentioned having four days before reporting to federal prison FPC Morgantown.