Advocacy groups urge Trump to intervene in the Roman Storm retrial

🚨 BREAKING: Over 65 crypto heavyweights—including Solana Policy Institute, Blockchain Association, and DeFi Education Fund—just dropped a letter begging Trump to step in. Why? Feds might retry Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm on two felony charges after his August conviction. This is getting spicy.

The letter, dated Thursday and leaked to Cointelegraph, demands Trump: 1) Order the IRS and Treasury to clarify crypto tax rules, 2) Shield DeFi from regulator overreach, and 3) Push the SEC and CFTC for clear guidelines. But the real headline: They want Trump to tell the DOJ to DROP all charges against Storm and overturn his conviction for running an unlicensed money transmitter.

The letter goes hard: "Recognizing that Storm’s work on Tornado Cash represents the publication of open-source software – not a financial crime. Dropping the case would reaffirm the Administration’s commitment to protecting developers. Doing so will further support that code is speech under the First Amendment and signals that the US will protect innovation."

Backstory: Storm was convicted in August for running an unlicensed money transmittal biz—one of three charges. The jury deadlocked on the other two: conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate sanctions. So now he’s staring down a possible retrial while already being guilty of one felony.

Two weeks after Storm’s verdict, DOJ’s Matthew Galeotti (acting assistant AG for the criminal division) said at an American Innovation Project summit: "merely writing code, without ill intent, is not a crime." But then Jay Clayton, interim US attorney for SDNY, filed to oppose Storm’s acquittal motion on Nov. 12. The plot thickens.

Next court date: Jan. 22 for a conference. No sentencing scheduled yet for the single conviction. Storm’s been pleading not guilty since his August 2023 indictment, screaming "Writing code is not a crime" the whole time.

Reality check: A president can influence DOJ policy, but norms usually stop them from directly ordering charges to be dropped. Still, the crypto crew is betting Trump will break norms. Cointelegraph hit up Solana Policy Institute for comment—radio silence so far.

Bottom line: This isn’t just about Storm. It’s a full-court press for crypto regulatory clarity and developer protection. The industry is putting all its chips on Trump’s table. Will he fold or go all in?