Utopia Talk / Politics / Trump keeps word, pardons Ross Ulbricht

Forwyn Member	Fri Jan 24 11:28:48 tw will find a way to be mad http://www...online-drug-scheme-2025-01-22/ (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who was sentenced to life in prison for running an underground online marketplace where drug dealers and others conducted more than $200 million in illicit trade using bitcoin. The Republican president made good on a campaign pledge to free Ulbricht, 40, who was arrested in 2013 and sentenced in 2015 in what became a landmark U.S. prosecution launched only a few years after the emergence of the popular cryptocurrency. "The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of government against me," Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. Trump said the pardon was "full and unconditional" and said he called Ulbricht's mother to break the news to her. Ulbricht was released from a federal prison in Arizona late on Tuesday following Trump's announcement, according to federal Bureau of Prisons records. "After enduring over a decade of incarceration, this decision offers Ross the opportunity to begin anew, to rebuild his life, and to contribute positively to society," Brandon Sample, Ulbricht's clemency attorney, said in a statement. Trump's administration is expected to significantly reverse course on what had been a crackdown by regulators on the cryptocurrency sector during former Democratic President Joe Biden's tenure. Trump had announced plans to commute Ulbricht's sentence in May during a speech at the Libertarian National Convention. The Libertarian Party, which has advocated for drug legalization, had pushed for Ulbricht's release, calling the case an example of government overreach. His arrest brought to an end what prosecutors described as a global, black market bazaar that for two years starting in 2011 was used by more than 100,000 people to buy and sell $214 million worth of illegal drugs and other illicit services. Prosecutors said some people died due to drugs bought on Silk Road. The Silk Road website relied on the Tor network to communicate anonymously and accepted bitcoin as payment, which prosecutors said allowed users to conceal their identities and locations. Prosecutors said Ulbricht ran Silk Road under the alias Dread Pirate Roberts, a reference to a character in the 1987 movie "The Princess Bride," and took extreme steps to protect the marketplace's operation. Those steps, they said, included soliciting the murders of several people who posed a threat, though they also said no evidence exists that any murders were actually carried out. Ulbricht acknowledged he created Silk Road, which a defense lawyer at his trial said was intended as a "freewheeling, free market site." But his lawyers contended Ulbricht had later handed off the website to others and was lured back toward its end to become the "fall guy" for its true operators. "I wanted to empower people to make choices in their lives and have privacy and anonymity," Ulbricht said at his sentencing hearing in May 2015. A federal jury in Manhattan in February 2015 found Ulbricht guilty of charges including distributing drugs through the internet and conspiring to commit computer hacking and money laundering. "What you did was unprecedented," now-former U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest said in sentencing Ulbricht. "And in breaking that ground as the first person, you sit here as the defendant having to pay the consequences for that."
tumbleweed the wanderer	Fri Jan 24 11:45:08 do you think Trump knows a fucking thing about the case? & Trump only ever mentioned the pardon at libertarian & crypto events & was just to get their support... just like when inventing his 'no tax on ____' when talking to various people (& how he told coal miners he'd bring back coal in the 2016 cycle)... & disgustingly held up bibles, blatantly lying that it was his favorite book, in bible country... he just extremely openly panders w/ absolutely nothing behind it --------------- "The scum that worked to convict him..." who was that scum? it would be rank-and-file FBI, DEA & other agents who made the case (who Trump claims he totally respects)... but of course the criminal's advocates told Trump that Preet Bharara was a prosecutor, & Trump hates him, thus they are all scum... Preet has never prosecuted an actual criminal, just had everyone framed? yeah, it's fucking ridiculous, as w/ everything Trump
Dukhat Member	Fri Jan 24 12:26:26 Fake libertarians care about this nonsense.
earthpig GTFO HOer	Fri Jan 24 12:27:26 What about pardons for the 'rank and file' criminals that have done things vastly less harmful, but that aren't and weren't newsworthy? This new system is weird, if I'm a criminal I just have to go fucking super big, hopefully big enough to get in the international news, and then I'll maybe get my pardon.
Nimatzo iChihuaha	Fri Jan 24 13:04:43 It was an atrocious disgrace and travesty of justice that he was given such a sentence in the first place.
Forwyn Member	Fri Jan 24 13:34:16 "who was that scum? it would be rank-and-file FBI, DEA & other agents who made the case" Yep. An example of the scum, who served less time than Ross: Carl M. Force, 46, of Baltimore, was a Special Agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Shaun W. Bridges, 32, of Laurel, Maryland, was a Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service (USSS). Both were assigned to the Baltimore Silk Road Task Force, which investigated illegal activity in the Silk Road marketplace. Force served as an undercover agent and was tasked with establishing communications with a target of the investigation, Ross Ulbricht, aka “Dread Pirate Roberts.” Force is charged with wire fraud, theft of government property, money laundering and conflict of interest. Bridges is charged with wire fraud and money laundering. According to the complaint, Force was a DEA agent assigned to investigate the Silk Road marketplace. During the investigation, Force engaged in certain authorized undercover operations by, among other things, communicating online with “Dread Pirate Roberts” (Ulbricht), the target of his investigation. The complaint alleges, however, that Force then, without authority, developed additional online personas and engaged in a broad range of illegal activities calculated to bring him personal financial gain. In doing so, the complaint alleges, Force used fake online personas, and engaged in complex Bitcoin transactions to steal from the government and the targets of the investigation. Specifically, Force allegedly solicited and received digital currency as part of the investigation, but failed to report his receipt of the funds, and instead transferred the currency to his personal account. In one such transaction, Force allegedly sold information about the government’s investigation to the target of the investigation. The complaint also alleges that Force invested in and worked for a digital currency exchange company while still working for the DEA, and that he directed the company to freeze a customer’s account with no legal basis to do so, then transferred the customer’s funds to his personal account. Further, Force allegedly sent an unauthorized Justice Department subpoena to an online payment service directing that it unfreeze his personal account. Bridges allegedly diverted to his personal account over $800,000 in digital currency that he gained control of during the Silk Road investigation. The complaint alleges that Bridges placed the assets into an account at Mt. Gox, the now-defunct digital currency exchange in Japan. He then allegedly wired funds into one of his personal investment accounts in the United States mere days before he sought a $2.1 million seizure warrant for Mt. Gox’s accounts. http://www...oney-laundering-and-wire-fraud
tumbleweed the wanderer	Fri Jan 24 15:18:07 insert 'i learned it from watching you' meme great, they used the criminal's operation to commit crimes & i'm sure Trump fully aware if you asked Trump what the guy was even charged with, do you think he'd know? if so, you're an idiot
obaminated Member	Sat Jan 25 01:52:18 Tw, if trump gave a long and elaborate explanation about how shitty and abusive this arrest and sentence was - would it matter to you?
obaminated Member	Sat Jan 25 01:54:43 Actually let's stop. Every post to tw seems to be an intervention.
BigDickNegro Member	Sat Jan 25 03:35:35 He's a whitey. How many black drug dealer kings has Trump pardoned?
obaminated Member	Sat Jan 25 08:49:54 A lot. That's why BBC loving Kim likes with trump.
tumbleweed the wanderer	Sat Jan 25 11:02:02 "if trump gave a long and elaborate explanation about how shitty and abusive this arrest and sentence was " if not clearly droning monotone off teleprompter, yes... it wouldn't even have to be long or elaborate, just demonstrating any knowledge at all i've seen him post about pardoning the guy multiple times, never w/ a single bit of info about the guy or why he deserved it... & even spelling his name wrong i'm -certain- he didn't give a single shit about the case... just as clearly evident in the mass J6 pardons... he pardons allies, he pardons to impress celebrities, he pardons when him or allies paid, & in this case was just to get vote support from a faction (my only info on this Ross guy is from skimming the wikipedia, which makes me more informed than Trump, but not informed enough to argue whether he deserved clemency... i'm just sure Trump didn't give a shit)
Forwyn Member	Sat Jan 25 21:36:44 This is why you are retarded. Instead of being informed and realizing this was a clearly overcharged case by fed thugs, and a broken clock being right is reason to be celebrated, you inform yourself on whatever is 180° of Trump. "But muhhh retard didn't make the decision based on sound, philosophic, legal, and moral grounds" Yeah neither did dementia Joe, who gives a fuck, a web coder isn't serving multiple life sentences anymore.
tumbleweed the wanderer	Sat Jan 25 21:42:10 i never claimed to care about Ross you would celebrate a monkey throwing darts as president if he hit the 'pardon Ross' target? my issue is Trump's unfitness for office, i'm pretty sure i've made that clear
Forwyn Member	Sat Jan 25 21:57:01 I'd celebrate conveniently correct Biden pardons, except he threw darts on a board based on race.
obaminated Member	Sat Jan 25 23:05:16 And family.
tumbleweed the wanderer	Sat Jan 25 23:14:37 & i disapproved of Biden's pardons (& want all to reject them) they were just another favor to Trump so now he doesn't have to put up or shut up on his baseless allegations (not that he would have ever shut up, but at least they could have taunted him over it)
obaminated Member	Sun Jan 26 04:04:06 Anything that might help trump disgusts you. You'll reject rebuilding LA. It is a thing that might reflect positively on trump.
Dukhat Member	Sun Jan 26 12:47:34 Biden‘s pardons are looking better and better by the day since Trump keeps on going after people that are honest and disagreed with him.
tumbleweed the wanderer	Sun Jan 26 13:31:03 "You'll reject rebuilding LA. It is a thing that might reflect positively on trump. " so if lord Trump generously gives aid we should be thankful? also the fucking moron is still claiming not letting water flow from the north was the problem, something NOBODY else is nor ever was saying (& he's claimed that's a condition for aid, as well as voter ID laws...)
obaminated Member	Mon Jan 27 18:55:53 You do realize the drought california is experiencing and lack of water is entirely due to liberal politicians and liberal polices, right?
tumbleweed the wanderer	Mon Jan 27 19:05:53 you do realize it had NOTHING to do w/ anything Trump ever says... the thing he's been talking about for years, that he just made up applies here the one reservoir was empty as under repairs, the hydrants had water pressure issue, not water supply issue there was no 'valve' to turn that resolved everything... & water can't be diverted to dampen all the forests of the State................ ...i feel dumber even having to type what he claims
Forwyn Member	Mon Jan 27 23:32:50 "the one reservoir was empty as under repairs" Either: > Schedule repairs during dry season, or > Put off repairs until catastrophic failure Either way, about on par for folks who watched a fat black dyke explain why fire victims are to blame for DEI hires not being able to carry them, and saying, "Yeah air this"
tumbleweed the wanderer	Tue Jan 28 00:52:25 as pretty much always, my point is what -Trump- mentions is total fucking idiocy (which is fucking nuts that its accepted), not whether any mistakes made by others & he's upped it by claiming he's sent the military in & they've turned on the alleged valve & accomplished something (an impossibility)... whatever the fuck he's talking about, hopefully it's impeachable (though probably just his standard total lying bullshit, which also should be impeachable if the world was sane)
Cherub Cow Member	Tue Jan 28 05:54:41 tumblefaggot on suicide watch, as usual — blithering retard. Just fuck Trump already, you faggot. .. Anyways, a lot of libertarians (or specifically the lol-bertarians) are pretending that Trump "promised" them this pardon and that this was therefore reciprocity for them voting for him, whereas, no, no it was not. People may recall that Trump was booed on stage when he asked for the Libertarian Party to endorse him: [NBC coverage of just the booing; May 2024] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya6-_OA4As0 "The former president did get a big cheer when he promised to commute the life sentence of the convicted founder of the drug-selling website Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht, and potentially release him on time served." [AP; May 2024] http://apnews.com/article/trump-libertarian-convention-rfk-jr-biden-816e3209fdf993c2ba7f6caed0ebcdb7 lolbertarian cope is that this was an exchange and that Libertarians are therefore in power: https://x.com/YurgHey2008/status/1881555053967974636 https://x.com/ComicDaveSmith/status/1882057216372383866 E.g., gun-tuber Brandon Herrera: "If you don’t understand the significance of a president taking office, and immediately fulfilling promises to the Libertarian community, you are the problem." https://x.com/TheAKGuy/status/1882025912063156317 Self-deluding talk in the comments is that Dave Smith did some backroom deals to partially accept Trump's terms and create a split in the Libertarian Party. But, again, this goes to the lolbertarian's self-deception. Big-L Libertarian Party retards think that Trump "promised" them this and that they got it in exchange, whereas the issue is the Venn Diagram / overlap of people who booed Trump (literally or indirectly) simultaneously trying to credit the Big-L Libertarian Party for a deal. That deal did not happen. I.e., • Big-L Libertarian Party *rejected* Trump's deal; there was *no* promise to be kept because Big-L did not take the offer and instead chose Chase Oliver. • People who *split* from the Big-L Libertarian Party and voted for Trump — at best — convinced Trump to be gracious *despite* the Big-L Party's rejection. (I.e., *not* a promise fulfilled but instead a signal that Big-L made the wrong choice, or, Trump otherwise courting them to make the right choice in the *future*). The only cohesive narrative for libertarians taking credit and claiming a "promise kept" is *if* they admit that Chase Oliver was intentionally placed as the Big-L Libertarian Party candidate *specifically* to sabotage the Party's chances (I indicated this need for an admission, January 22nd: http://x.com/CherubCow/status/1882076102191206445 ). A lot of people suspected this at the time because Chase Oliver is even more of a commie piece of shit than is Vermin Supreme (Vermin is a Marxist who frequently publishes Marxist propaganda on his timeline). The Oliver decision thus immediately and irrevocably displaced nearly all of the Big-L's right-wing libertarians, with their left-wing libertarians therefore left powerless and alone. So the thing is, Big-L Libertarians cannot admit publicly that Chase Oliver was intentional Party sabotage. They still want to take credit for this pardon, but without taking credit for *that* then they're just coming off as delusional liars and coping retards.
jergul large member	Tue Jan 28 06:20:14 From the other thread. I will accept you on your word if you can catagorically state that the children of white leftists are equal in value to all other white children. You feel you can commit to that? I will otherwise take it as proven that you think they are not.
Cherub Cow Member	Tue Jan 28 06:35:20 Your ultimatums and pathetic rhetorical lies are built upon deceptions. You will take any answer as "proof" yet no words to you serve anything but your own delusions. This thread is about the CDC. Fuck off, immoral and irreligious swine of Regime dogmas.
Cherub Cow Member	Tue Jan 28 06:36:28 *"This thread is about the [lolbertarians]"
jergul large member	Tue Jan 28 07:35:55 You hypocracy and opportunism thus proven until you provide a statement to the effect that all white children are equally valuable regardless of their parents' political views. Note, I will take you on your word. I think thought purity too important to you for you to lie directly on this point.
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