Former FTX executive Ryan Salame, once a co-CEO of the collapsed crypto exchange, is drawing attention after launching a highly visible social media campaign that appears aimed at securing a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. Despite currently serving a 90-month federal prison sentence, Salame's X account has recently become active with a steady stream of politically charged posts closely aligned with Trump-era Republican priorities. Over the past several weeks, Salame's posts have praised conservative policies, criticized Democrats, and echoed Donald Trump's rhetoric on immigration enforcement, voter ID laws, and alleged election integrity issues. In one viral post, Salame claimed that if granted clemency, he would "spend the remainder of my sentence working as an ICE agent," a statement that quickly gained traction online and reinforced his alignment with Trump's hardline immigration stance. In other messages, he argued that voter ID laws are being intentionally misrepresented and suggested that funding IDs would eliminate what he described as "fake pretending" around voter suppression. He has also claimed he would personally pay for legal citizens to obtain voter identification if he were free. Salame is currently incarcerated at a medium-security federal facility after pleading guilty in 2023 to campaign finance violations and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business connected to FTX. Federal inmates are prohibited from accessing social media directly, leading to widespread belief that his posts are being published through third parties acting on his behalf, likely using phone calls or written correspondence, a common practice among high-profile inmates. Several of Salame's recent posts directly attack federal prosecutors, alleging coercion in his plea deal and claiming the Department of Justice misled him regarding investigations involving his wife. This narrative closely mirrors Trump's long-standing criticism of the DOJ and claims of politically motivated prosecutions. Salame's messaging comes at a time when Trump has issued a series of high-profile pardons and commutations, including cases involving financial and crypto-related crimes. While Salame has not explicitly requested a pardon, the tone and consistency of his public statements strongly suggest he is positioning himself for potential clemency by aligning as closely as possible with Trump's political agenda.

Caroline Ellison transferred from federal prison to community confinement ahead of early release. * By Jai Hamid * Updated: December 17 2025 5:09 AM UTC In this post: * Caroline Ellison moved from federal prison to community confinement after serving about eleven months. * Records show her new projected release date is February 20, 2026. * She testified against Sam Bankman-Fried in the $11 billion fraud case. Former FTX executive Caroline Ellison was on October 16 moved out of the low-security Danbury Federal Correctional Institution in Connecticut, according to information from Business Insider. The transfer happened quietly and places Caroline closer to release than many expected when she reported to prison last year, though her release date remains February 20, 2026, which is about nine months earlier than the original end of her sentence. The Federal Bureau of Prisons explained on Tuesday that Caroline is now serving the rest of her time under less restrictive conditions. Spokesperson Randilee Giamusso, speaking for the Bureau of Prisons, reportedly said:- "That means the individual may be in home confinement or a residential reentry center.For privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not discuss the conditions of confinement for any individual, including reasons for transfers or release plans, nor do we specify an individual's specific location while in community confinement." Caroline of course entered the Danbury facility in early November 2024 to begin serving a two-year sentence.The sentence stemmed from her role in a multibillion-dollar fraud case tied to the collapse of Sam "SBF" Bankman-Fried's crypto empire. Caroline had pleaded guilty to conspiring with SBF in an $11 billion scheme connected to FTX and Alameda Research. During the 2023 criminal trial of Sam, Caroline testified for the government, telling jurors that she and SBF used Alameda Research to deploy billions of dollars that were secretly taken from FTX customers. Caroline's legal team asked the court to avoid incarceration entirely. Kaplan rejected that request and said he would not offer a "literal get-out-of-jail-free card." Before sentencing, Caroline addressed the court and apologized, while visibly holding back tears. "On some level, my brain doesn't even comprehend all the people I harmed. That doesn't mean I don't try." Sam of course received a much harsher outcome, when he was infamously sentenced to 25 years in prison after a jury found him guilty on all seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. Right now, SBF is at a low-security federal prison in San Pedro, California, but he continues appealing both the conviction and the sentence. His lawyers argue he deserves a new trial because prosecutors unfairly previewed his testimony.