DOJ Official: 'Writing Code Is Not a Crime' — Remarks Could Affect Roman Storm Retrial

A senior Justice Department official told a crypto industry summit that the department will avoid treating software development as a de facto regulatory violation — comments that could make a retrial for Tornado Cash co‑founder Roman Storm less likely.

Speaking in Jackson, Wyoming at the American Innovation Project summit on August 21, 2025, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti said the department will take a narrower, more even‑handed approach to prosecutions in the digital assets space. Galeotti echoed a Deputy Attorney General memo from April 7, 2025 titled “Ending Regulation by Prosecution,” and emphasized that prosecutors should not use criminal indictments to create regulatory rules for the industry.

Galeotti stressed that "merely writing code, without ill intent, is not a crime," and clarified that innovation intended to store and transmit value is not criminal liability by itself. He said the Criminal Division will continue to pursue cases against those who knowingly commit fraud, money laundering, sanctions evasion or who intentionally aid such crimes, but that neutral, decentralized software authors who lack criminal intent should not be targeted.

The remarks directly address issues that came up during Roman Storm’s trial. Storm — a Tornado Cash co‑founder — was indicted in August 2023 on three counts, and a Manhattan jury this month returned a mixed verdict: guilty on one count related to operating an unlicensed money‑transmitting business, and deadlocked on charges of money laundering and sanctions violations. Sentencing is expected on the single conviction, and prosecutors retained the option to seek retrial on the unresolved counts.

Galeotti outlined charging principles for statutes such as 18 U.S.C. § 1960 (unlicensed money transmission), saying prosecutors should seek convictions only where the evidence shows knowledge and willful violation of legal requirements. He noted that when software is truly decentralized and does not give a third party custody or control over user assets, new charges tied to regulatory violations would not be approved.

The Justice Department guidance drew applause at the conference and was framed by some industry figures as vindication of the argument that building open‑source tools should not automatically trigger criminal liability. Variant’s chief legal officer Jake Chervinsky summarized the reaction on social media, urging that the Storm case be dropped in light of the department’s stated principles.

Despite the policy signals, Galeotti’s remarks do not automatically end legal exposure for Storm or others associated with Tornado Cash. The Criminal Division said it will still prosecute demonstrable criminal conduct, and prosecutors can pursue charges when evidence shows specific intent to facilitate unlawful activity. For now, the comments indicate a potential shift in how the DOJ will evaluate whether developer conduct crosses the line from protected innovation into criminal behavior.