Hedge fund manager Dan Loeb announced publicly that the Department of Justice threatened President Donald Trump in the last hours of Trump’s first term in January 2021, warning that he would “go after him” if he changed the decision of Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road market powered by Bitcoin. After the reported threat, Trump rescinded the amendment, forcing Ulbricht to serve another four years in prison before receiving a full pardon in January 2025 during Trump’s second term.
Loeb, founder and CEO of Third Point LLCrevealed this on the All-In Podcast while discussing his role in criminal justice reform and Ulbricht’s philanthropic efforts. “On the last day of Trump’s 45th term, we were sure he was going to get out,” Loeb said. And the Justice Department, for whatever reason, said, ‘If you commute his sentence, we’re going to go after you,’ to the president.
The news is the first in a series of reports of such a direct threat from the DOJ in the closing days of Trump’s first administration. It has not been independently confirmed by other sources so far, and no other DOJ official has been cited as issuing the warning. The allegations are based on Loeb’s memoirs, which may have been passed on through a lobbying group that includes crypto figures such as Riva Tez, Charlie Kirk, and White House judge David Warrington.
DOJ leadership in January 2021
Jeffrey A. Rosen became Acting Attorney General following the departure of William Barr at the end of December 2020. Richard Donoghue He was the Deputy Attorney General. The Office of the Pardon Attorney, a DOJ unit that reviews clemency requests and makes recommendations, is administered under their supervision. Presidents, including Trump, often bypass the OPA’s procedures for politically sensitive cases.
The alleged threat appears to have gone beyond the DOJ’s usual advice on matters such as the amount of sentences, victim involvement, or prioritization. Ulbricht served two years plus 40 years in prison after being found guilty in 2015 of charges including running a criminal enterprise, distributing drugs through the Internet, money laundering, and racketeering. Contrary to popular belief and widely publicized media reports, Ulbricht has never been charged with murder for hire.
Silk Road, which relied heavily on Bitcoin for transactions, represented one of the earliest attempts at using an alternative currency to the dollar, making a case for its reputation. foundation to the Bitcoin community.
The warning, which appears to be aimed at retaliating against the president himself, could deepen tensions between the executive branch and the Justice Department over clemency. Such a push may have stemmed from concerns about organizations appearing to be soft on drug trafficking and money laundering cases associated with the early Bitcoin economy.
The Four-Year Delay is Political
The DOJ’s alleged involvement in the final days of Trump’s first term cost Ulbricht four more years in prison. As Loeb explained, Charlie Kirk later led the charity. “This was his only question to the president,” Loeb said, referring to Kirk. Kirk’s advocacy helped turn Ulbricht’s release into Trump’s biggest promise to liberals and the crypto community during the 2024 campaign. Trump delivered on that promise with a full and unconditional pardon early in his second term.
Ironically, the delay strengthened the “Free Ross” movement. What started as a call for mercy in a case that many in the Bitcoin community saw as a sign of a coup turned into a powerful political movement. The campaign highlighted the issues of inconsistent punishments, abstinence, secret weapons, and resistance to the unpopular and ineffective war on drugs, major themes in Bitcoin’s economic outlook and of great importance to the voting community. This momentum and Trump’s promise to pardon Ulbricht are thought to have given Trump the libertarian and crypto vote in 2024.
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Loeb has cast his side of Ulbricht’s case as part of criminal justice reform, linking his many philanthropic efforts to education and concerns about opportunity and income inequality. He also named three categories of people for mercy: the wrongly convicted, the rehabilitated, and the severely punished. Ulbricht, who admitted wrongdoing at Silk Road while denying murder-for-hire charges, fits the latter category in Loeb’s analysis.
This article shows the ongoing conflict between the law, the technology of Bitcoin, and the liberal culture that makes up a large part of the US population. Silk Road, one of the oldest Bitcoin exchanges, remains a hotbed for debates about decentralization, privacy, and regulatory compliance. Similar cases continue to attract the attention of the Bitcoin community, including Bitcoin developer Ian Freemanand creators of the secretive Samourai Walletand Tornado Cash Roman Storm– all charges that many people see as attacks on Libertarian leaders, free trade, self-preservation and private finance.
