Key Takeaways
- • Dan Loeb, founder and CEO of Third Point LLC, publicly disclosed that the DOJ threatened President Trump in January 2021, warning it would "go after" him if he commuted Ross Ulbricht's sentence, leading Trump to withdraw the commutation.
- • Ulbricht, creator of the Silk Road Bitcoin marketplace, served four additional years in prison as a result of the alleged DOJ threat before receiving a full pardon in January 2025 during Trump's second term.
- • Jeffrey A. Rosen served as Acting Attorney General and Richard Donoghue as Acting Deputy Attorney General during the final days of Trump's first term when the reported threat occurred; no specific DOJ official has been publicly named as delivering the warning.
- • Loeb's account represents the first public disclosure of a direct DOJ threat to Trump regarding Ulbricht's clemency, though the claim has not been independently corroborated and rests on Loeb's recollection conveyed through advocacy channels including crypto figures Charlie Kirk and Riva Tez.
- • The revelation highlights the political sensitivity surrounding presidential clemency decisions and the role of institutional pressure from law enforcement agencies during final hours of administrations.
Summary
Hedge fund manager Dan Loeb disclosed on the All-In Podcast that the Department of Justice explicitly threatened President Donald Trump during the final hours of his first term in January 2021, warning it would "go after" him if he commuted the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road Bitcoin marketplace. According to Loeb's account, Trump subsequently withdrew a planned commutation, forcing Ulbricht to remain incarcerated for four additional years. Ulbricht ultimately received a full pardon in January 2025 during Trump's second term.
"On the last day of Trump's 45th term, we were certain that he was going to get out," Loeb stated during the podcast discussion of his involvement in criminal justice reform and Ulbricht's clemency efforts. "And the Justice Department, for whatever reason, said, 'If you commute his sentence, we're going to go after you,' to the president. So he, as I understand, he withdrew the commutation." The claim suggests DOJ leadership made a direct institutional threat to influence a presidential decision in the final moments before Trump's administration concluded.
This disclosure constitutes the first public report of such a direct DOJ threat during the closing days of Trump's first presidency. However, the account has not been independently corroborated by other sources, and no specific DOJ official has been identified as delivering the warning. Loeb's account appears to have been conveyed through an advocacy chain that included crypto figures Charlie Kirk and Riva Tez, as well as then-White House counsel David Warrington.
At the time of the alleged threat, Jeffrey A. Rosen served as Acting Attorney General following William Barr's departure in late December 2020, with Richard Donoghue serving as Acting Deputy Attorney General. The Office of the Pardon Attorney, a DOJ unit responsible for reviewing clemency petitions and issuing recommendations, operated under their oversight. Presidents, including Trump, have historically bypassed standard pardon attorney processes for politically sensitive cases.
"On the last day of Trump's 45th term, we were certain that he was going to get out," Loeb stated during the podcast discussion of his involvement in criminal justice reform and Ulbricht's clemency efforts. "And the Justice Department, for whatever reason, said, 'If you commute his sentence, we're going to go after you,' to the president. So he, as I understand, he withdrew the commutation." The claim suggests DOJ leadership made a direct institutional threat to influence a presidential decision in the final moments before Trump's administration concluded.
This disclosure constitutes the first public report of such a direct DOJ threat during the closing days of Trump's first presidency. However, the account has not been independently corroborated by other sources, and no specific DOJ official has been identified as delivering the warning. Loeb's account appears to have been conveyed through an advocacy chain that included crypto figures Charlie Kirk and Riva Tez, as well as then-White House counsel David Warrington.
At the time of the alleged threat, Jeffrey A. Rosen served as Acting Attorney General following William Barr's departure in late December 2020, with Richard Donoghue serving as Acting Deputy Attorney General. The Office of the Pardon Attorney, a DOJ unit responsible for reviewing clemency petitions and issuing recommendations, operated under their oversight. Presidents, including Trump, have historically bypassed standard pardon attorney processes for politically sensitive cases.
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