Judge Lewis Kaplan has ordered federal prosecutors to respond by March 11 to Sam Bankman-Fried's pro se motion for a new trial - the latest procedural development in the former FTX CEO's ongoing effort to challenge a 25-year prison sentence while a parallel appeal remains pending in the Second Circuit.
The White House has stated repeatedly that Trump is not considering a pardon.
The two legal tracks now run simultaneously. SBF's formal appeal of his 2023 conviction - filed in November 2025 and argued before a three-judge panel that appeared skeptical of his lawyers' arguments - remains unresolved.
The new trial motion is separate and was filed under Rule 33 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, which allows courts to grant retrials in the interest of justice based on newly discovered evidence.
The New Trial Motion
Bankman-Fried, 33, filed the 35-page motion pro se - meaning he is representing himself - with his mother, Stanford law professor Barbara Fried, submitting it to the court clerk on his behalf.
The motion accuses the Department of Justice of withholding evidence and asks that Judge Kaplan be recused.
The filing includes an affidavit from Daniel Chapsky, former head of data science at FTX, who states he was willing to testify for the defense at trial but was dissuaded by his attorneys over fears of prosecutorial retaliation.
Bankman-Fried continues to contend that FTX was illiquid rather than insolvent - a distinction courts have so far rejected and that judges at the November appellate hearing also appeared unconvinced by.
The Pardon Question
Despite an active social media campaign on X in which SBF has praised Trump, criticized the Biden-era DOJ, and aligned himself with Republican grievances about "political bias," the White House has rejected pardon speculation.
Trump said in a January New York Times interview that he has no plans to pardon Bankman-Fried, a position reiterated in a Tuesday report by Fortune.
Trump has pardoned other prominent crypto figures since taking office, including former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht. Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, who testified against SBF as part of a plea deal, was released in January after 440 days in custody.
Co-defendant Ryan Salame, sentenced to more than seven years, remains incarcerated.
Read next: BlackRock Is Building An ETH Staking ETF While Equity Treasury Plays Burn - Here's The Divide