Key Takeaways
- • Hedge fund manager Dan Loeb publicly revealed that the DOJ threatened President Trump in January 2021, warning it would "go after" him if he commuted Ross Ulbricht's sentence, prompting Trump to withdraw the commutation at the final hour of his first term.
- • Ulbricht, creator of the Bitcoin-powered Silk Road marketplace, remained imprisoned for four additional years before receiving a full presidential pardon in January 2025 during Trump's second term, transforming him into a symbol for crypto advocates and libertarian voters.
- • The reported DOJ warning came from Acting Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen and Acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, who oversaw the Office of the Pardon Attorney during the final days of Trump's first presidency.
- • Loeb's account—disclosed on the All-In Podcast—represents the first public claim of a direct institutional threat from the DOJ to prevent a presidential commutation, though the account has not been independently corroborated and no specific DOJ official has been named.
- • The four-year delay in Ulbricht's release and eventual 2025 pardon strengthened his symbolic status among crypto voters, self-custody advocates, and libertarians who became a consequential political constituency in the 2024 election cycle.
Summary
Hedge fund manager Dan Loeb has made public a previously undisclosed claim that the Department of Justice directly threatened President Donald Trump in the closing hours of his first term in January 2021, warning that it would "go after" the president if he commuted the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Bitcoin-powered Silk Road marketplace. Loeb, founder and CEO of Third Point LLC, disclosed the allegation during an appearance on the All-In Podcast while discussing criminal justice reform and Ulbricht's clemency efforts. According to Loeb's account, "On the last day of Trump's 45th term, we were certain that he was going to get out. 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."
At the time of this reported threat, Jeffrey A. Rosen served as Acting Attorney General following William Barr's departure in late December 2020, with Richard Donoghue 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. Trump frequently bypassed standard pardon attorney processes for politically sensitive cases, giving him discretionary authority over final commutation decisions. The reported threat appears to have reversed an anticipated commutation in the final hours before Trump left office.
As a result of the withdrawal, Ulbricht remained incarcerated for four additional years until Trump's second presidency began in January 2025, at which point he received a full presidential pardon. This extended incarceration period and subsequent pardon transformed Ulbricht into a significant symbol for libertarian advocates, self-custody proponents, and crypto voters—constituencies that gained outsized influence in the 2024 election cycle. Loeb's claim represents the first public account of such a direct institutional warning from the DOJ aimed at preventing a presidential commutation, though it has not been independently corroborated by other sources, and no specific DOJ official has been identified as delivering the warning. The account likely traveled through advocacy channels involving crypto figures including Riva Tez and Charlie Kirk, as well as then-White House counsel David Warrington.
At the time of this reported threat, Jeffrey A. Rosen served as Acting Attorney General following William Barr's departure in late December 2020, with Richard Donoghue 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. Trump frequently bypassed standard pardon attorney processes for politically sensitive cases, giving him discretionary authority over final commutation decisions. The reported threat appears to have reversed an anticipated commutation in the final hours before Trump left office.
As a result of the withdrawal, Ulbricht remained incarcerated for four additional years until Trump's second presidency began in January 2025, at which point he received a full presidential pardon. This extended incarceration period and subsequent pardon transformed Ulbricht into a significant symbol for libertarian advocates, self-custody proponents, and crypto voters—constituencies that gained outsized influence in the 2024 election cycle. Loeb's claim represents the first public account of such a direct institutional warning from the DOJ aimed at preventing a presidential commutation, though it has not been independently corroborated by other sources, and no specific DOJ official has been identified as delivering the warning. The account likely traveled through advocacy channels involving crypto figures including Riva Tez and Charlie Kirk, as well as then-White House counsel David Warrington.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.