Hedge fund manager Dan Loeb has publicly claimed The Department of Justice threatened President Donald Trump in the final hours of Trump’s first term in January 2021, warning that it would “go after him” if he commuted the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, founder of the Bitcoin-powered Silk Road marketplace. Following the reported threat, Trump withdrew the commutation, forcing Ulbricht to serve an additional four years in prison before receiving a full pardon in January 2025 during Trump’s second term.
Loeb, founder and CEO of Third Point LLCwas revealed on the All-In Podcast while discussing his role in criminal justice reform and Ulbricht’s clemency efforts. “On the last day of Trump’s 45th term, we were sure he was going to get out,” Loeb said. “The Justice Department, for whatever reason, said to the president, ‘If you commute his sentence, we will go after you.’ So, as I understand it, he withdrew the commutation.”
This account is the first public report of such a direct threat from the Justice Department during the final days of Trump’s first presidency. This has not been independently confirmed by other sources yet, and no specific Justice Department official has been named to deliver the warning. This claim is based on Loeb’s memories, which were likely transmitted through an advocacy chain that included cryptocurrency figures such as Riva Tez, Charlie Kirk, and then-White House Counsel David Warrington.
Ministry of Justice leadership in January 2021
Jeffrey A. Rosin He served as acting Attorney General following the departure of William Barr in late December 2020. Richard Donoghue He was the acting Deputy Attorney General. The Office of the Pardon Attorney, a unit of the Department of Justice that reviews clemency applications and issues recommendations, works under their supervision. Presidents, including Trump, have often bypassed standard OPA procedures on politically sensitive issues.
The alleged threat appears to have gone well beyond the Justice Department’s typical advisory input on issues such as proportionality of sentences, victim impact, or enforcement priorities. Ulbricht was serving a dual sentence of life plus 40 years after his 2015 conviction on charges including running a continuing criminal enterprise, online drug distribution, money laundering, and hacking. Contrary to popular belief and insinuations widely disseminated by the mainstream media, Ulbricht was never tried on any murder-for-hire charges.
The Silk Road, which relied primarily on Bitcoin for transactions, represented one of the earliest large-scale experiments in using an alternative currency to the dollar, making the case for its history. Essential to the Bitcoin community.
A warning framed as possible retaliation against the president himself would mark an unusual escalation in tensions between the executive branch and the Justice Department over clemency power. This resistance likely stemmed from institutional concerns about appearing lenient in the drug trafficking and money laundering issues associated with the early Bitcoin economy.
Four-year delay and political influence
The Justice Department’s reported interference in the final days of Trump’s first term cost Ulbricht another four years behind bars. As Loeb recounts, Charlie Kirk later took the lead in clemency efforts. “That was his only request of the president,” Loeb said, referring to Kirk. Kirk’s advocacy helped turn Ulbricht’s release into Trump’s primary promise to libertarians and the cryptocurrency community during the 2024 campaign. Trump fulfilled that promise with a full, unconditional pardon early in his second term.
Ironically, the delay strengthened the “Free Ross” movement. What started as a call for clemency in a case that many in Bitcoin circles viewed as a symbol of government overreach has evolved into a powerful political force. The campaign highlighted issues of disproportionate sentencing, self-sequestration, privacy tools, and resistance to the broadly unpopular and ineffective War on Drugs, themes central to Bitcoin’s ethos of financial sovereignty and of great importance to the libertarian voting bloc. This momentum and Trump’s promise to pardon Ulbricht are widely believed to have won Trump the libertarian and crypto vote in 2024.
Wider context of Bitcoin
Loeb framed his involvement in the Ulbricht case as part of broader criminal justice reform, linking it to his broader philanthropic efforts in education and concerns about opportunity and income inequality. He highlighted three categories of pardons: the wrongfully convicted, those rehabilitated, and those who received disproportionately harsh sentences. Ulbricht, who admitted to wrongdoing on the Silk Road while denying murder-for-hire allegations, fits the latter category in Loeb’s assessment.
The episode highlights the ongoing tensions between law enforcement, Bitcoin innovation, and the libertarian culture that makes up a large portion of the American public. Silk Road, one of the oldest Bitcoin markets, remains a reference point in discussions about decentralization, privacy, and regulatory bypass. Similar cases continue to attract attention in the Bitcoin community, including… Bitcoin activist Ian Freemanthe Developers of the privacy tool Samourai Walletand Roman Storm from Tornado CashAll face charges that many view as attacks on liberal leaders, freedom of trade, self-guardianship, and financial privacy tools.
