After Bankman-Fried’s arrest, Washington seeks answers — and distance
The FTX founder had been a darling in the capital until his sudden downfall
By Tony Romm and Isaac Stanley-Becker December 13, 2022
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/12/13/bankman-fried-politics-washington/

The sudden arrest of disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried ensnarled Washington on Tuesday, as Democrats and Republicans began to sort through the political wreckage — and looked to distance themselves from one of their chief benefactors in the 2022 election.

For years, Bankman-Fried had been a darling in the eyes of the nation’s political class: The crypto mogul had maintained a visible presence in the halls of the Capitol, a generous campaign checkbook and a close relationship with the regulators who oversaw his company.

Bankman-Fried escorted from court in the Bahamas
0:50
FTX founder Samuel Bankman-Fried was denied bail by a Bahamas judge on Dec. 13. Bankman-Fried was charged by three U.S. agencies for fraud and conspiracy. (Video: Tony Williams/The Washington Post)
But lawmakers came to find that Bankman-Fried presided over a deeply troubled enterprise, one whose flaws had eluded scrutiny in Washington until FTX declared bankruptcy last month. Then, mere hours before Bankman-Fried was supposed to answer Tuesday for his actions at a congressional hearing, federal prosecutors secured his surprise arrest in the Bahamas for eventual extradition to the United States — filing charges alleging he misled investors and mishandled billions in funds.

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The news rocked Capitol Hill, where lawmakers in both parties blasted Bankman-Fried for his alleged crimes — and expressed fears about further, rampant abuse in the largely unregulated crypto industry.

“My fear is that we will view Sam Bankman-Fried as just one big snake in a crypto Garden of Eden,” Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) remarked at the House hearing where Bankman-Fried had been due to appear. “The fact is, crypto is a garden of snakes.”

For others in Washington, the FTX founder’s arrest carried immediate political implications, since federal officials coupled their fraud charges against Bankman-Fried with allegations he conspired to commit multiple violations of campaign finance laws involving donations in the “tens of millions of dollars.”

In the two years leading up to last month’s elections, the crypto executive donated $40 million to candidates and campaign groups, according to federal records. Most of his money went to Democrats, though Bankman-Fried has alluded to additional, undisclosed contributions to Republicans. His publicly reported giving to Democratic-aligned groups was surpassed this election cycle only by that of George Soros, the liberal financier.

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Two of Bankman-Fried’s biggest beneficiaries in 2022 were the House Majority PAC and the Senate Majority PAC, which help elect Democrats to their respective chambers. Those organizations alone received about $7 million from him over the past two years, federal data shows. Yet neither group — along with a raft of other Democratic and Republican organizations — would say Tuesday whether they planned to return the cash.

“Anybody who received political contributions from this person ought to be worried about whether everything was aboveboard,” said Noah Bookbinder, chief executive of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

The scramble again laid bare the consequences of lawmakers’ own inattentiveness to the rise of cryptocurrency. Once a fad form of investing among a cadre of digital natives, the ecosystem of digital wallets, tokens and other tools has evolved into an increasingly powerful, profitable force — one shaping the country’s political and financial systems in real time.

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Before its collapse, FTX had been the third-largest crypto exchange in the world by volume, amassing massive sums that its top executive, Bankman-Fried, allegedly misused in ways that brought down the company and others connected to its fortunes. In response, federal prosecutors indicted him on eight criminal counts Tuesday, while financial regulators — the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — each brought civil charges.

As federal officials unfurled their allegations, lawmakers on Capitol Hill embarked on their own probe, despite Bankman-Fried’s absence. The scene was striking, coming one year — almost to the exact day — after the FTX founder last appeared in front of the same committee and promised to work alongside Congress to have a “positive impact on the world.”

Meet Tom Emmer, a powerful crypto advocate in a crypto-wary Congress

Opening the marathon gathering, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the powerful chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, said she was “deeply troubled to learn how common it was” for the former chief executive to “steal from the cookie jar” at FTX. She blasted Bankman-Fried for his impropriety, which allegedly included the use of company funds to pay for his “lavish” lifestyle.

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Across the Capitol, Senate lawmakers prepared for their own hearing Wednesday — a session of the Banking Committee that Bankman-Fried had intended to skip before his arrest. Some panel members said they hoped the FTX scandal might inspire lawmakers to pay more attention to the nascent digital field.

“I’m sure as heck glad we didn’t rush to some loose regulatory structure that would have potentially allowed crypto a legal way into our financial networks,” said Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), promising that he had “a lot of questions” for crypto executives in the days ahead.

Another panel member, Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), said lawmakers going forward needed to “fill the gaps where there are gaps,” adding: “You can’t gamble with your customers’ money. We need to make sure that applies to crypto exchanges, if [it doesn’t] already.”

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Yet many lawmakers faced questions of their own, having benefited from the $40 million in Bankman-Fried’s known federal donations — and tens of millions more from other top executives at FTX. The problems were more than mere optics, since federal officials charged the former chief executive with multiple campaign finance violations. That included allegations that Bankman-Fried illegally sourced some of the funds from his related crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, then reported the contributions in the names of others, according to the Justice Department.

“All of this dirty money was used in service of Bankman-Fried’s desire to buy bipartisan influence and impact the direction of public policy in Washington,” said Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Federal Election Commission regulations require that committees refund illegal contributions, including those improperly made in the name of another donor, within 30 days of the date on which the illegal giving was discovered.. If the committees lack sufficient funds, they are required to use the next dollars they receive.

What to know about Sam Bankman-Fried and the FTX crypto exchange collapse

The charges came days after the watchdog organization CREW filed a formal complaint with the FEC, pointing to Bankman-Fried’s public comments that he had donated significant sums to “dark money” groups to elect Republicans. Such groups do not have to disclose their donors.

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It is unclear to whom Bankman-Fried donated those sums, and the extent to which the organizations also may have broken the law in accepting them. Yet even those who received his money in more public-facing, legal forms found themselves grappling with whether they should keep it.

Two key lawmakers, Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.), on Tuesday confirmed their offices had donated or would donate the money they had received from Bankman-Fried to charity. The two had worked hand-in-hand with the now-disgraced crypto mogul on legislation seen as friendly to the industry.

Bankman-Fried also gave $6 million to the House Majority PAC, the main super PAC supporting House Democrats; $1 million to the Senate Majority PAC, which supports Senate Democrats; and more than $1 million to the Democratic National Committee and an allied group. And he gave $1.3 million to a super PAC backing Latino House candidates and $2 million to a super PAC supporting mostly Democratic candidates seen as friendly to cryptocurrency.

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A spokeswoman for the Senate Majority PAC declined to comment about the cash from Bankman-Fried. Representatives for the other groups did not respond to requests for comment.

Bankman-Fried directed millions in contributions through Protect Our Future, a group that boosted candidates committed to pandemic preparedness and other causes under the umbrella of a philanthropic approach known as effective altruism. The former FTX chief has acknowledged in recent weeks that his philanthropy was shaped by business imperatives, saying in an interview at the New York Times DealBook Summit: “We thought about ourselves as legitimately trying to do good, but we also thought about what we could do to make sure that our image reflected that.”

Protect Our Future gave to a broad array of candidates, party committees and left-leaning causes. Those ranged from a super PAC that backed Carrick Flynn, who ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for an open House seat in Oregon, to the campaign arm of Everytown for Gun Safety, the gun control advocacy group.

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The Flynn-aligned super PAC did not respond to a request for comment. Max Steele, a spokesman for Everytown, said Bankman-Fried’s in-kind contribution took the form of polling conducted in the spring. He said there was no cash to return.

> chromebook test
>
> Two of Bankman-Fried’s biggest beneficiaries in 2022 were the House Majority PAC and the Senate Majority PAC,
> which help elect Democrats to their respective chambers. Those organizations alone received about $7 million
> from him over the past two years, federal data shows. Yet neither group — along with a raft of other Democratic
> and Republican organizations — would say Tuesday whether they planned to return the cash.

In the last two elections, he was the 2nd largest donor to the Dems after George Soros.

On Wed, 14 Dec 2022 15:20:13 -0800 (PST), Ed Stasiak
<edstasiak1067@gmail.com> wrote:

>> chromebook test
>>
>> Two of Bankman-Fried’s biggest beneficiaries in 2022 were the House Majority PAC and the Senate Majority PAC,
>> which help elect Democrats to their respective chambers. Those organizations alone received about $7 million
>> from him over the past two years, federal data shows. Yet neither group — along with a raft of other Democratic
>> and Republican organizations — would say Tuesday whether they planned to return the cash.
>
>In the last two elections, he was the 2nd largest donor to the Dems after George Soros.

Wonder just how much he gave to Republicans. Hard to say since he kept
those donations secret but I guess it's easy to give lots of money to
all politicians when the money isn't yours.

On Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 6:20:16 PM UTC-5, Ed Stasiak wrote:
> > chromebook test

> > Two of Bankman-Fried’s biggest beneficiaries in 2022 were the House Majority PAC and the Senate Majority PAC,
> > which help elect Democrats to their respective chambers. Those organizations alone received about $7 million
> > from him over the past two years, federal data shows. Yet neither group — along with a raft of other Democratic
> > and Republican organizations — would say Tuesday whether they planned to return the cash.

> In the last two elections, he was the 2nd largest donor to the Dems after George Soros.

https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/6271910b6c295122076b4151/tony-blair-bill-clinton-crypto-bahamas-e1651230713542/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&width=960

------------

https://youtu.be/PyeWRd7ZEBs?t=45

In article <64487ba7-0a5d-40fb-b92e-1b4d16fc4232n@googlegroups.com>,
Ed Stasiak <edstasiak1067@gmail.com> wrote:

> In the last two elections, he was the 2nd largest donor to the Dems after
> George Soros.

It's so precious to see Republicans talking about George Soros when a
Chicago businessman named Barre Seid gave (Austin Powers pinkie to his
lips) $1.6 BILLION dollars to a conservative dark money group in 2021,
by far the largest known contribution of its kind.

Ed Stasiak <edstasiak1067@gmail.com> wrote:

>>chromebook test

>>Two of Bankman-Fried's biggest beneficiaries in 2022 were the House
>>Majority PAC and the Senate Majority PAC, which help elect Democrats
>>to their respective chambers. Those organizations alone received about
>>$7 million from him over the past two years, federal data shows. Yet
>>neither group -- along with a raft of other Democratic and Republican
>>organizations -- would say Tuesday whether they planned to return
>>the cash.

>In the last two elections, he was the 2nd largest donor to the Dems
>after George Soros.

I don't understand the criminal charge for the federal elections law
violation, given that all of his donations were disclosed. He embezzled
massive amounts of money. Why couldn't all the charges be about that?

On 12/14/22 10:09 PM, super70s wrote:
> In article <64487ba7-0a5d-40fb-b92e-1b4d16fc4232n@googlegroups.com>,
> Ed Stasiak <edstasiak1067@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> In the last two elections, he was the 2nd largest donor to the Dems after
>> George Soros.
>
> It's so precious to see Republicans talking about George Soros when a
> Chicago businessman named Barre Seid gave (Austin Powers pinkie to his
> lips) $1.6 BILLION dollars to a conservative dark money group in 2021,
> by far the largest known contribution of its kind.

"Ed Stasiak" aka Eunuch Derp is shitposting as usual. Fried gave an
equal amount to both parties, but did it with GQPs as dark money so it
couldn't be traced. Apparently the Oath Keepers don't want to be this
accurate of course.

https://fortune.com/crypto/2022/11/29/sam-bankman-fried-political-donations-democrats-republicans-dark-money/

Sam Bankman-Fried says he donated just as many millions to Republicans
as Democrats, but didn’t publicize it because reporters would ‘freak the
f–k out’

The Stasiak/Derp sockpuppet, of course, wants no part of actual facts
and just shitposts right wing/Oath Keeper talking points.

On Thursday, December 15, 2022 at 3:34:57 AM UTC-5, gmsin...@gmail.com wrote:
> On 12/14/22 10:09 PM, super70s wrote:
> > In article <64487ba7-0a5d-40fb...@googlegroups.com>,
> > Ed Stasiak <edstas...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> In the last two elections, he was the 2nd largest donor to the Dems after
> >> George Soros.

> Sam Bankman-Fried says he donated just as many millions to Republicans
> as Democrats, but didn’t publicize it because reporters would ‘freak the
> f–k out’

It's all about the Benjamins baby

Among the notable political events that occurred in 1992 were the election of a dynamic young president, Bill Clinton, and the coining of a memorable phrase, “strange new respect.” The latter came from a conservative writer complaining that liberal journalists would reliably bestow their regard on any conservative figure who began drifting leftward.

Exactly three decades later, 2022 is shaping up to be the year that cryptocurrency achieves something similar, a strange new respectability in the world of politics, with a big assist from the sax-playing Arkansan.

Late yesterday, the former president ...appeared onstage for a discussion of current events with 30-year-old billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the crypto exchange FTX, at the Crypto Bahamas conference.

A few short years ago, respectable government types primarily associated cryptocurrencies with cyber-crime and money laundering. But money changes everything,

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2022/04/29/cryptos-strange-new-respectability-00029062

-------

It's all about the Benjamins baby

https://tablet-mag-images.b-cdn.net/production/3ee5a53f8e7131a14ce99ea14d0e372dfcb2ba5f-2560x1060.jpg?w=1300&q=70&auto=format&dpr=1

https://images1.ynet.co.il/PicServer4/2016/07/28/7163809/EPA_05444537728624-1bbbbbbbbbbbbb.jpg

> shawn
> > Ed Stasiak
> >
> > In the last two elections, he was the 2nd largest donor to the Dems after George Soros.
>
> Wonder just how much he gave to Republicans. Hard to say since he kept
> those donations secret but I guess it's easy to give lots of money to
> all politicians when the money isn't yours.

https://fortune.com/2022/11/10/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-joe-biden-democratic-party-second-biggest-donor/
November 10, 2022

Oops. Sam Bankman-Fried’s implosion took down Democrats’ second-biggest donor with it as the party gears up to regulate crypto

Public data shows that some parts of Bankman-Fried’s empire gave equally to both parties. Data from OpenSecrets, a non-profit that
tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying, shows FTX US, the company’s US operation, gave equally to both parties.

But Bankman-Fried’s public donations went largely to Democrats. The FTX founder gave more than $990,000 to candidates in the last
election cycle, according to OpenSecrets, and another $38.8m to outside groups. Only about $235,000 of his public political giving went
toward Republican candidates.

On Thu, 15 Dec 2022 06:57:43 -0800 (PST), Ed Stasiak
<edstasiak1067@gmail.com> wrote:

>> shawn
>> > Ed Stasiak
>> >
>> > In the last two elections, he was the 2nd largest donor to the Dems after George Soros.
>>
>> Wonder just how much he gave to Republicans. Hard to say since he kept
>> those donations secret but I guess it's easy to give lots of money to
>> all politicians when the money isn't yours.

All of that below addresses what is already known but not the supposed
private donations Bankman-Fried made to Republicans. His comments
suggest that his donations to Republicans was more private than
public. Wouldn't be at all surprised to find that he was more or less
evenly split in his total private and public donations between the
parties given the division of power.
>https://fortune.com/2022/11/10/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-joe-biden-democratic-party-second-biggest-donor/
>November 10, 2022
>
>Oops. Sam Bankman-Fried’s implosion took down Democrats’ second-biggest donor with it as the party gears up to regulate crypto
>
>Public data shows that some parts of Bankman-Fried’s empire gave equally to both parties. Data from OpenSecrets, a non-profit that
>tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying, shows FTX US, the company’s US operation, gave equally to both parties.
>
>But Bankman-Fried’s public donations went largely to Democrats. The FTX founder gave more than $990,000 to candidates in the last
>election cycle, according to OpenSecrets, and another $38.8m to outside groups. Only about $235,000 of his public political giving went
>toward Republican candidates.

shawn <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:
>Thu, 15 Dec 2022 06:57:43 -0800 (PST), Ed Stasiak <edstasiak1067@gmail.com>:

>>>shawn
>>>>Ed Stasiak

>>>>In the last two elections, he was the 2nd largest donor to the Dems after George Soros.

>>>Wonder just how much he gave to Republicans. Hard to say since he kept
>>>those donations secret but I guess it's easy to give lots of money to
>>>all politicians when the money isn't yours.

>All of that below addresses what is already known but not the supposed
>private donations Bankman-Fried made to Republicans. His comments
>suggest that his donations to Republicans was more private than
>public. Wouldn't be at all surprised to find that he was more or less
>evenly split in his total private and public donations between the
>parties given the division of power.

If his campaign contributions are known because they've been disclosed
as required in law, then what election law violation was he indicted
for? I sure as hell don't understand why this hasn't been questioned.

>>https://fortune.com/2022/11/10/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-joe-biden-democratic-party-second-biggest-donor/
>>November 10, 2022

>>Oops. Sam Bankman-Fried’s implosion took down Democrats’
>second-biggest donor with it as the party gears up to regulate crypto

>>Public data shows that some parts of Bankman-Fried’s empire gave
>equally to both parties. Data from OpenSecrets, a non-profit that
>>tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying, shows FTX US, the
>company’s US operation, gave equally to both parties.

>>But Bankman-Fried’s public donations went largely to Democrats. The
>FTX founder gave more than $990,000 to candidates in the last
>>election cycle, according to OpenSecrets, and another $38.8m to outside
>groups. Only about $235,000 of his public political giving went
>>toward Republican candidates.

On Thu, 15 Dec 2022 19:04:19 -0000 (UTC), "Adam H. Kerman"
<ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

>shawn <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:
>>Thu, 15 Dec 2022 06:57:43 -0800 (PST), Ed Stasiak <edstasiak1067@gmail.com>:
>
>>>>shawn
>>>>>Ed Stasiak
>
>>>>>In the last two elections, he was the 2nd largest donor to the Dems after George Soros.
>
>>>>Wonder just how much he gave to Republicans. Hard to say since he kept
>>>>those donations secret but I guess it's easy to give lots of money to
>>>>all politicians when the money isn't yours.
>
>>All of that below addresses what is already known but not the supposed
>>private donations Bankman-Fried made to Republicans. His comments
>>suggest that his donations to Republicans was more private than
>>public. Wouldn't be at all surprised to find that he was more or less
>>evenly split in his total private and public donations between the
>>parties given the division of power.
>
>If his campaign contributions are known because they've been disclosed
>as required in law, then what election law violation was he indicted
>for? I sure as hell don't understand why this hasn't been questioned.

No idea. It's clear that he broke any number of laws with the way he
managed the finances between his two companies but I haven't seen any
details yet on what he did in regards to election laws that crossed
the line. I'm sure it will come out eventually.
>>>https://fortune.com/2022/11/10/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-joe-biden-democratic-party-second-biggest-donor/
>>>November 10, 2022
>
>>>Oops. Sam Bankman-Fried’s implosion took down Democrats’
>>second-biggest donor with it as the party gears up to regulate crypto
>
>>>Public data shows that some parts of Bankman-Fried’s empire gave
>>equally to both parties. Data from OpenSecrets, a non-profit that
>>>tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying, shows FTX US, the
>>company’s US operation, gave equally to both parties.
>
>>>But Bankman-Fried’s public donations went largely to Democrats. The
>>FTX founder gave more than $990,000 to candidates in the last
>>>election cycle, according to OpenSecrets, and another $38.8m to outside
>>groups. Only about $235,000 of his public political giving went
>>>toward Republican candidates.

On Thursday, December 15, 2022 at 8:18:37 AM UTC-5, chromebook test wrote:
> On Thursday, December 15, 2022 at 3:34:57 AM UTC-5, gmsin...@gmail.com wrote:
> > On 12/14/22 10:09 PM, super70s wrote:
> > > In article <64487ba7-0a5d-40fb...@googlegroups.com>,
> > > Ed Stasiak <edstas...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > >> In the last two elections, he was the 2nd largest donor to the Dems after
> > >> George Soros.
> > Sam Bankman-Fried says he donated just as many millions to Republicans
> > as Democrats, but didn’t publicize it because reporters would ‘freak the
> > f–k out’
> It's all about the Benjamins baby
>
>
>
> Among the notable political events that occurred in 1992 were the election of a dynamic young president, Bill Clinton, and the coining of a memorable phrase, “strange new respect.” The latter came from a conservative writer complaining that liberal journalists would reliably bestow their regard on any conservative figure who began drifting leftward.
>
> Exactly three decades later, 2022 is shaping up to be the year that cryptocurrency achieves something similar, a strange new respectability in the world of politics, with a big assist from the sax-playing Arkansan.
>
> Late yesterday, the former president ...appeared onstage for a discussion of current events with 30-year-old billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the crypto exchange FTX, at the Crypto Bahamas conference.
>
> A few short years ago, respectable government types primarily associated cryptocurrencies with cyber-crime and money laundering. But money changes everything,

Trump’s ‘Major Announcement’ Was To Hawk His $99 NFTs
Sara Dorn Forbes Staff Dec 15, 2022
https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2022/12/15/trumps-major-announcement-was-to-hawk-his-99-nfts/?sh=294f0e9c290d