According to two anonymous sources, U.S. President Donald Trump is considering clemency for Ross Ulbricht. White House reporters Asawin Suebsaeng and Adam Rawnsley claim sources detailed that Trump “has expressed sympathy” for Ross Ulbricht and his double life sentences.

Ross Ulbricht may get clemency from the sitting U.S. President Donald Trump if the American leader is swayed by the Silk Road founder’s story. Ulbricht is known for creating the darknet market website Silk Road and he was arrested in 2013. After his arrest, in May 2015, Ulbricht was sentenced to a double life sentence plus forty years without the possibility of parole. Ulbricht and his family also tried to leverage the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2017 and also the U.S Supreme Court in 2018. However, both attempts were unsuccessful and Ulbricht currently resides in Tucson Penitentiary.

Ever since Ulbricht was arrested and sentenced to double life in jail, many individuals and organizations believe Ross’s case is a miscarriage of justice. The website freeross.org has published material showing over 250 organizations, eminent individuals, and leaders voicing support for Ulbricht’s freedom. A clemency petition written to U.S. President Donald Trump on the web portal change.org has amassed a whopping 366,800 signatures to-date. Then on Tuesday, December 15, 2020, a report published by the Daily Beast explains that Trump may be considering giving Ulbricht clemency.

White House reporters Asawin Suebsaeng and Adam Rawnsley say that two anonymous sources have revealed Trump’s review of Ulbricht’s case. “People familiar with the matter” have said “the White House counsel’s office has had documents related to Ulbricht’s case under review, and Trump was recently made aware of the situation and the pleas of the Silk Road founder’s allies,” the reporters’ detail.

The report adds:

Two of these sources say the President has at times privately expressed some sympathy for Ulbricht’s situation and has been considering his name, among others, for his next round of commutations and pardons before the Jan. 20 inauguration of his 2020 Democratic opponent.

The journalists note that it is uncertain whether or not Trump will grant Ross clemency but they note the Silk Road founder has “gained some influential backers in the president’s political and social orbit.” The well-known activist Weldon Angelos detailed that he’s forwarded documents to contacts in the White House since February.

“In the beginning of the year, [Ulbricht’s] family had reached out to us for our support, and my organization and I have endorsed his full commutation, and I am hopeful that President Trump will commute his sentence in its entirety,” Angelos said. “This case has perhaps more support than I’ve seen in any case of this kind.” According to the White House correspondents for the Daily Beast, the Trump administration has not commented on this subject matter.

“We’re praying and remain hopeful that he will show mercy on Ross, as he has others, and commute his sentence to time served and give my son a second chance at life,” Lyn Ulbricht, Ross’s mother said in an interview on Tuesday.

What do you think about sources saying U.S. President Donald Trump may grant Ulbricht clemency? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

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