WASHINGTON – While pushing aggressive measures to combat fentanyl trafficking, including shutting down the border and imposing higher tariffs, former President Donald Trump issued a controversial pardon for Ross Ulbricht, the man behind the infamous dark web marketplace, Silk Road.
Ulbricht was convicted in 2015 for running the online platform where anonymous transactions fueled a narcotics and money-laundering conspiracy. Prosecutors at his trial revealed that Silk Road facilitated more than $200 million in drug sales before it was seized by the FBI in 2013.
“Silk Road was the Amazon of drug sites,” former FBI Special Agent Milan Patel said in the CBS News series “FBI Declassified.”
Ulbricht’s operations came to a halt following his arrest, but not before prosecutors linked at least six overdose deaths to drugs purchased through Silk Road. In 2015, Ulbricht was sentenced to two life terms plus 40 years, a punishment Trump has called, “Ridiculous.”
“The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponisation of government against me,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
During his campaign, Trump signaled his intent to help Ulbricht, referencing the case during a speech at the Libertarian Party National Convention last May.