White House weighs broad pardon push ahead of U.S. 250th anniversary

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Ciaran Ryan

14.05.2026

White House weighs broad pardon push ahead of U.S. 250th anniversary — White House pardon plans

The White House is reportedly considering up to 250 presidential pardons as part of preparations for the United States' 250th birthday celebrations on July 4. Any announcement could come as early as June 14 or during Independence Day events, though the plan remains preliminary and unconfirmed.

Highlights

President Donald Trump is considering a package of 250 pardons tied to the U.S. 250th anniversary, with potential announcements on June 14 or July 4.
Over 16,000 formal presidential pardon requests were submitted last year, highlighting a significant backlog that may impact the breadth and speed of upcoming clemency decisions.
Crypto sector cases remain prominent, with high-profile pardon campaigns for Sam Bankman-Fried, Keonne Rodriguez, and Roman Storm drawing investor attention after earlier digital-asset clemencies.

Pardon plans and possible timing

As first reported by The Wall Street Journal, President Donald Trump is weighing a package of 250 pardons tied to the country's 250th anniversary, citing people familiar with the matter. The report says a formal announcement could come on June 14, Trump's birthday, or on July 4 during the national celebration.

The proposal is still at an early stage, and no final decision has been confirmed. More than 16,000 formal presidential pardon requests were submitted last year, underscoring the scale of the backlog facing the administration.

Trump has already used clemency aggressively in his current term. On his first day back in office last year, he issued more than 1,500 pardons to people involved in the 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol.

Crypto cases remain in focus

Several jailed cryptocurrency founders and their supporters have been pushing for clemency since Trump's inauguration. Among the highest-profile names is former FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted on seven counts tied to the exchange's collapse and was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2024.

Keonne Rodriguez, a developer behind Samourai Wallet, has also publicly voiced hope for a pardon. Trump said last December that he would review Rodriguez's case and explore clemency, while an online petition in his support had gathered 16,082 signatures as of Thursday.

Separate petitions are also seeking pardons for Tornado Cash founders Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, although they have drawn far fewer supporters. Storm was convicted last August of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business and still faces money laundering and sanctions conspiracy charges, while Semenov remains wanted by the FBI.

The cases involving Rodriguez and Storm are closely watched across the crypto sector, where advocates argue software developers should not be held criminally liable for how third parties use their tools. Trump has already pardoned several digital-asset figures in his second term, including BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reed, as well as Binance founder Changpeng Zhao and Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht.

In our earlier report on Maine’s illegal marijuana grow houses, we covered how federal budget scrutiny renewed attention on operations allegedly tied to transnational crime and money laundering. We noted lawmakers pressing the FBI and DEA to deepen coordination with local authorities, while investigators expanded their work into tracing financial flows, including cryptocurrency transactions.

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