Political opportunism and campaign donations: Trump pardons Silk Road drug kingpin convicted of selling heroin and meth on the Dark Web

David Yaffe-Bellany, Ryan Mac | New York Times | January 29, 2025

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Libertarian and crypto allies of Ross Ulbricht, who was serving a life sentence for distributing drugs on his Silk Road website, leveraged President Trump’s desire for political support to secure his release.

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At least six deaths were attributed to drugs bought on Silk Road, prosecutors said in court. A federal judge in the Southern District of New York, where the case was tried, called Mr. Ulbricht “the kingpin of a worldwide digital drug-trafficking enterprise” whose actions were “terribly destructive to our social fabric.”

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After he lost the 2020 election, Mr. Trump considered freeing Mr. Ulbricht, and at least one lobbyist was paid $22,500 to help secure his release, according to financial forms. But Mr. Trump left office without taking action.

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[Angela McArdle, the chair of the Libertarian Party], has faced blowback from other libertarians for her dealings with Mr. Trump. But she was still in touch with the new administration last week, and requested that Mr. Trump grant Mr. Ulbricht a full pardon, not just a commutation. “Promises made, promises kept,” a Trump staffer emailed her, according to a copy of the message viewed by The New York Times.

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