Look at Donald Trump - he failed, over and over again, but he always kept trying. Seven bankruptcies, but he never said "I'm bankrupt so I'm not allowed to do any business again" - he just kept on doing business. And look at the government shutdown - he kept saying the Democrats will eventually fold and do what he wanted, and they have now folded and done what he wanted. This is a man who doesn't understand the word "no" and look where it got him.
Not just him - you have basically every successful tech entrepreneur too. They don't ask permission. However, some people don't ask permission and as a result of not asking permission they end up in jail, like Sam Bankman-Fried, instead of as billionaires out of jail, like Larry Ellison. So it seems you need a good intuition on which things you shouldn't ask permission for, and this has very little to do with facts and very much to do with personal connections.
CZ got a presidential pardon alongside giving the president a bunch of money. So did Ross Ulbricht. SBF did not give him money, and is in jail. It's true none of them did the exact same crimes as each other, but there's a clear pattern here. Let's see if in the future SBF gives the president a bunch of money and gets a pardon.
CZ received and served a four month sentence for vague AML issues, the pardon didn’t really change anything for him.
Ross Ulbricht had no connections prior to his imprisonment. His case demonstrates how even a man in supermax prison with essentially no money to his name was able to build good enough connections to get a presidential pardon for dealing massive amounts of drugs.
Personal connections might matter if you do decide to commit serious crimes, but as Ulbricht demonstrates, anyone can develop those connections.
Look at Donald Trump - he failed, over and over again, but he always kept trying. Seven bankruptcies, but he never said "I'm bankrupt so I'm not allowed to do any business again" - he just kept on doing business. And look at the government shutdown - he kept saying the Democrats will eventually fold and do what he wanted, and they have now folded and done what he wanted. This is a man who doesn't understand the word "no" and look where it got him.
Not just him - you have basically every successful tech entrepreneur too. They don't ask permission. However, some people don't ask permission and as a result of not asking permission they end up in jail, like Sam Bankman-Fried, instead of as billionaires out of jail, like Larry Ellison. So it seems you need a good intuition on which things you shouldn't ask permission for, and this has very little to do with facts and very much to do with personal connections.