Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez is hoping to secure a presidential pardon that will spare him from an impending five-year prison sentence — but there are three people other than Donald Trump he might need to convince.
Rodriguez was sentenced last month after pleading guilty in July to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. “I understand the seriousness of my crimes,” he admitted to the judge.
He’s since seen significant support online, not least of all from 256 Foundation co-founder and X user “econoalchemist” who has launched a petition and called for donations to help Rodriguez and his Samourai co-founder William Lonergan Hill.
The petition has so far garnered more than 7,200 signatures since its launch on November 11 and has been boosted by the likes of Bitcoin Magazine and Wendy O.
However, despite this widespread swell of support, it remains to be seen whether or not 37-year-old Rodriguez and 67-year-old Hill will see their sentences quashed by the president.
This, terrifyingly, is because Trump sometimes has no idea who he pardons.
For example, when a 60 Minutes news anchor asked him about the wealthiest and most influential crypto criminal he ever pardoned, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ), Trump admitted, “I don’t know who he is.”
He reiterated, “Here’s the thing, I know nothing about it, because I’m too busy.”
Read more: What to do if you’ve used Samourai Wallet
Three people who could recommend a Samourai Wallet pardon
Trump, like other US presidents, sometimes delegates his pardon research to third parties.
Three of his favorite people for outsourcing this work are US Attorney General Pam Bondi, BakerHostetler lawyer Teresa Goody Guillén, and Trump’s own personal friend Ches McDowell.
Bondi is the most influential of the three people due to her cabinet position. She is also the top official of the US Department of Justice which secured Rodriguez’s conviction as plaintiff.
In a press interview, Trump verbally directed Bondi to look into Rodriguez’s case after a reporter asked about the possibility of a pardon for the Samourai Wallet developer.
Another person Rodriguez probably needs to convince is Goody Guillén.
She was instrumental in recommending a pardon for CZ, who hired her in February to work exclusively on his presidential pardon effort. That effort succeeded by October.
Goody Guillén has also represented Trump’s World Liberty Financial crypto project.
Finally, a man with experience recommending a pardon that Trump actually signed is McDowell, a wealthy lobbyist with few credentials besides hunting big game and enjoying a friendship with Trump.
Binance paid McDowell’s firm Checkmate Government Relations $450,000 during the third quarter of 2025 for work including “executive relief.” CZ received his pardon during that engagement.
Rodriguez isn’t currently imprisoned, but he’s scheduled to begin his sentence on Friday, December 19, 2025. His sentence is final and binding, and his only hope of escaping prison is a pardon.
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