Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX, has withdrawn his motion for a new trial in his criminal case, though his appeal against his conviction and 25-year sentence remains active. The decision was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, where Bankman-Fried responded to Judge Lewis Kaplan's inquiry about the independence of his legal filings. Bankman-Fried confirmed he wrote the motion himself but consulted his parents, leading to a temporary withdrawal of the request. Bankman-Fried, convicted in 2023 for fraud related to FTX's collapse, is serving his sentence in California. He plans to potentially renew his trial request after his appeal and a separate bid to reassign the judge are resolved. Despite his legal challenges, Bankman-Fried has remained vocal, even speculating about a presidential pardon, though Donald Trump has reportedly dismissed such possibilities.