{'byline': 'by Joe Hiti', 'hosts': '', 'byline_sources': 'Audacy', 'hide_author': True, 'audience_id': '', 'original_station': [{'station': 'wbbm780', 'path': 'wbbm780/news/national/why-trump-pardon-the-creator-of-the-dark-web-page-silk-road'}], 'syndicated_items': [{'station': 'us99', 'path': '/us99/news/local/why-trump-pardon-the-creator-of-the-dark-web-page-silk-road'}, {'station': 'wxrt', 'path': '/wxrt/news/local/why-trump-pardon-the-creator-of-the-dark-web-page-silk-road'}], 'original_item': {'_index': 'published-content_v44', '_type': '_doc', '_score': None, '_source': {'date': '2025-01-22T13:54:46.347+00:00', 'lead': [{'data': {'title': 'Trump begins crackdown on immigration with executive order, AP explains', 'thumbnail_url': 'https://s2.dmcdn.net/v/XjknO1dZ-1aVfxM88', 'id': 'x9crjo8', 'created_time': 1737473085, 'mode': 'vod', 'private_id': 'k4Eh8ZIESUiPqUChlOg', 'owner': 'x2yit84', 'description': 'Trump begins crackdown on immigration with executive order, AP explains', 'channel': 'news', 'tags': ['KRLDAM', 'News', 'AP News', 'Donald Trump'], 'private': True, 'addPublic': False}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/dailymotion/instances/cm67yo8pb00113d6wxs7muimc@published'}], 'slug': 'why-trump-pardon-the-creator-of-the-dark-web-page-silk-road', 'tags': ['President Donald Trump', 'Presidential Pardons', 'Dark Web', 'Audacy News', 'National News', 'WBBM-AM'], 'feeds': {'msn': True, 'rss': True, 'postup': True, 'facebook': True, 'newsfeed': True, 'sitemaps': True, 'frequency': True, 'smartNews': True, 'apple-news': False, 'smart-news': True, 'most-popular': True, 'reversechron': True, 'google-news-feed': True}, 'hosts': [], 'adTags': {'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/ad-tags/instances/cm67y818r000a01sylmx0hx46@published'}, 'byline': [{'hosts': [], 'names': [{'name': 'Joe Hiti', 'slug': 'joe-hiti', 'text': 'Joe Hiti'}], 'prefix': 'by', 'sources': [{'text': 'Audacy'}]}], 'teaser': 'Why did Trump pardon the creator of the dark web page Silk Road?', 'authors': ['Joe Hiti'], 'content': [{'data': {'text': 'On Tuesday, President Donald Trump carried through on another campaign promise, issuing a presidential pardon for Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the underground website Silk Road. But why did he do it?', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm67y818r000e01syertrjq8v@published'}, {'data': {'text': '<iframe width="100%" height="165px" frameborder="0" src="https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?&amp;feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Frss.amperwave.net%2Fv2%2Fepisode%2F7153393_2025-01-17-021033&amp;withPlaylist=false&amp;theme=dark&amp;playerDisplay-logoType=Audacy"></iframe>', 'isIframe': True, 'componentVariation': 'html-embed', 'fbInstantArticleHtml': '<iframe width="100%" height="165px" frameborder="0" src="https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?&amp;feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Frss.amperwave.net%2Fv2%2Fepisode%2F7153393_2025-01-17-021033&amp;withPlaylist=false&amp;theme=dark&amp;playerDisplay-logoType=Audacy"></iframe>'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/html-embed/instances/cm67yrg9m002y3d6whs9okecp@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'Let’s back up a bit.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm67yqbqt00243d6whbbyjml5@published'}, {'data': {'text': '<a href="https://www.fbi.gov/history/artifacts/ross-william-ulbrichts-laptop#:~:text=Ross%20William%20Ulbricht.-,Known%20online%20as%20Dread%20Pirate%20Roberts%2C%20Ulbricht%20ran%20a%20darknet,to%20conceal%20its%20users\'%20locations.">Silk Road</a> was a site that Ulbricht created in 2011 on the dark web, a part of the internet that is not accessible through today’s traditional search engines. The site only allowed users to pay with cryptocurrency, meaning all transactions were encrypted and untraceable.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm67yqbmg001w3d6wii205oed@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'From illicit drugs to weapons, poisons, and even services like computer hacking, the website quickly became a hotspot for illegal activity.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm67yqbnu00223d6wvm61j8r9@published'}, {'data': {'text': '<a href="https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ross-ulbricht-aka-dread-pirate-roberts-sentenced-life-federal-prison-creating">Ulbricht operated the site until he was arrested</a> in 2013, and it was seized by the FBI. Prosecutors had said at least six deaths were traced to overdoses from drugs purchased on the page and that he had made $18 million through commissions made off tens of thousands of drug sales.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm67yqbmg001v3d6wkli9jhz7@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'Evidence presented at trial also alleged he sought to have people killed for threatening his business.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm67yqbmv001x3d6wh7nu3rs2@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'In 2015, Ulbricht was <a href="https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ross-ulbricht-aka-dread-pirate-roberts-sentenced-life-federal-prison-creating">sentenced to life in prison</a> for his role in creating the website, which the FBI once said was “the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the internet.”', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm67yqbly001u3d6wkdmz0mkx@published'}, {'data': {'text': '<iframe width="100%" height="165px" frameborder="0" src="https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?&amp;feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Frss.amperwave.net%2Fv2%2Fepisode%2F7151296_2025-01-16-025236&amp;withPlaylist=false&amp;theme=dark&amp;playerDisplay-logoType=Audacy"></iframe>', 'isIframe': True, 'componentVariation': 'html-embed', 'fbInstantArticleHtml': '<iframe width="100%" height="165px" frameborder="0" src="https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?&amp;feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Frss.amperwave.net%2Fv2%2Fepisode%2F7151296_2025-01-16-025236&amp;withPlaylist=false&amp;theme=dark&amp;playerDisplay-logoType=Audacy"></iframe>'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/html-embed/instances/cm67yr2ja002k3d6wcy3o3kxt@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'Former FBI Special Agent Milan Patel <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/the-fbi-declassified/">shared with CBS News</a> that “Silk Road was the Amazon of drug sites.”', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm67yqbn2001y3d6wp5zlnd8q@published'}, {'data': {'text': '“We saw murder-for-hire postings, hacking-for-hire postings, which was, ‘Hey, pay me two bitcoin, and I’ll hack into your ex-wife or ex-husband’s email account,’” Patel said. “…It was totally anonymous. And you could never trace it back to the person who asked for it.”', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm67yqbnn00213d6wh6jgz16k@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'However, not all agreed with Ulbricht’s punishment for creating the website, including many within the Libertarian Party.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm67yqbwg00253d6woehqara0@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'During the party’s convention last May, Trump vowed to help Ulbricht, as some held up “Free Ross” signs. Activists within the party have shared for some time that they believe the government overreached when sentencing Ulbricht.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm67yqbn9001z3d6wfek50d2a@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'After issuing the pardon, <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113869112741612092">Trump shared on Truth Social</a> that he had spoken with Ulbricht’s mother on Tuesday, his first full day in office.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm67yqbly001t3d6w9ozf88j3@published'}, {'data': {'text': '“It was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross,” he wrote. “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.”', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm67yqbo200233d6w8tcfz5mc@published'}, {'data': {'text': '<iframe width="100%" height="165px" frameborder="0" src="https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?&amp;feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Frss.amperwave.net%2Fv2%2Fepisode%2F7097804_2024-12-05-015004&amp;withPlaylist=false&amp;theme=dark"></iframe>', 'isIframe': True, 'componentVariation': 'html-embed', 'fbInstantArticleHtml': '<iframe width="100%" height="165px" frameborder="0" src="https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?&amp;feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Frss.amperwave.net%2Fv2%2Fepisode%2F7097804_2024-12-05-015004&amp;withPlaylist=false&amp;theme=dark"></iframe>'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/html-embed/instances/cm67yqk89002c3d6w65dkfkxf@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'He went on to say that the sentence Ulbricht received for his crimes was “ridiculous.”', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm67yqbng00203d6w1mztc12j@published'}], 'feedImg': {'data': {'alt': "Members of the Libertarian Party stand in chairs while chanting and demanding the release of Ross Ulbricht during the party's national convention at the Washington Hilton on May 25, 2024 in Washington, DC.", 'url': 'https://images.radio.com/aiu-media/GettyImages2154663034-4a49ec2f-0b8e-41a1-998d-f8fc194d12f7.jpg', 'width': 594, 'credit': 'Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images', 'height': 396, 'mimeType': 'image/jpeg', 'sizeInBytes': '48892', 'componentVariation': 'feed-image'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/feed-image/instances/cm67y818r000b01syrpulyrz1@published'}, 'sources': [{'text': 'Audacy'}], '_version': 24, 'featured': False, 'headline': 'Why did Trump pardon the creator of the dark web page Silk Road?', 'msnTitle': 'Why did Trump pardon the creator of the dark web page Silk Road?', 'textTags': ['President Donald Trump', 'Presidential Pardons', 'Dark Web', 'Audacy News', 'National News', 'WBBM-AM'], '_msnTitle': {'shouldOverride': False}, 'apContent': None, 'isOpinion': False, 'pageTitle': 'Why Trump pardon the creator of the dark web page Silk Road?', 'sideShare': {'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/share/instances/cm67y818r000c01synbsx3w7n@published'}, 'feedImgUrl': 'https://images.radio.com/aiu-media/GettyImages2154663034-4a49ec2f-0b8e-41a1-998d-f8fc194d12f7.jpg', 'feedLayout': 'small', 'showSocial': True, 'stationURL': 'https://www.audacy.com/wbbm780', 'articleDate': None, 'articleTime': None, 'breadcrumbs': [{'url': '//www.audacy.com/wbbm780', 'text': 'WBBM Newsradio 780 AM & 105.9 FM', 'hidden': False}, {'url': '//www.audacy.com/wbbm780/news', 'text': 'News', 'hidden': False}, {'url': '//www.audacy.com/wbbm780/news/national', 'text': 'National', 'hidden': False}], 'contentType': 'article', 'dateUpdated': False, 'seoHeadline': 'Why Trump pardon the creator of the dark web page Silk Road?', 'stationName': 'WBBM Newsradio 780 AM & 105.9 FM', 'stationSlug': 'wbbm780', 'dateModified': '2025-01-22T13:54:46.213Z', 'featuredNews': True, 'sectionFront': 'news', 'fullWidthLead': False, 'shortHeadline': 'Why did Trump pardon the creator of the dark web page Silk Road?', 'syndicatedUrl': None, 'unityPageType': 'article', 'featuredSports': False, 'msnTitleLength': 64, 'seoDescription': 'On Tuesday, President Donald Trump carried through on another campaign promise, issuing a presidential pardon for Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the underground website Silk Road. 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