According to the Associated Press, US prosecutors say FTX founder Bankman-Fried made illegal campaign donations totaling in the ‘tens of millions of dollars.’ What the Associated Press failed to highlight, however, was the fact that those donations were made primarily to Democrats.
Federal prosecutors say that beginning in 2019 Bankman-Fried devised “a scheme and artifice to defraud” FTX’s customers and investors. He illegally diverted their money to cover expenses, debts and risky trades at his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, and to make lavish real estate purchases and large political donations, prosecutors said in a 13-page indictment.
At a press conference on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams called it “one of the biggest frauds in American history,” and said the investigation is ongoing and fast-moving. He urged anyone who believes they were victims of the alleged scheme to contact his office.
Before the bankruptcy, he was considered by many in Washington and on Wall Street as a savant of digital currencies, someone who could help take them mainstream, in part by working with policymakers to bring more oversight and trust to the industry – or so they thought.
Bankman-Fried was previously one of the world’s wealthiest people on paper; at one point his net worth reached $26.5 billion, according to Forbes. He was a prominent personality in Washington, donating millions of dollars to Democrats and Republicans. U.S. Attorney Williams said Tuesday that Bankman-Fried made “tens of millions of dollars” in illegal campaign donations. Again, what Williams failed to mention was the fact that Democrats took the lion’s share of Bankman-Fried’s political donations, and the few Republicans that did receive donations all voted to convict former President Donald Trump.
Conservative Populist and Former Congressional Candidate David Giglio, however, was quick to highlight on his Podcast “America First Live” that 99% of the money donated by FTX Executives went to incumbents, who were extremely likely, if not guaranteed, to win reelection.
But here’s where things get interesting. According to Giglio, donations were made strategically to members of Congress who sit on the most powerful committees, and he donated almost exclusively to Democrats. “Donations to Republicans were made exclusively to Senate Republicans who voted to convict Donald Trump in his second impeachment or who had publicly disavowed the 45th President,” Giglio stated. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Ben Sasse (R-NE), and Susan Collins (R-ME), John Thune (R-SD), and John Boozman (R-AR). [Impeachers in italics.]
America United PAC ($300,000), which is a PAC funded almost exclusively by the Never Trump Republican Ziff Brothers who were caught up in the Hillary Clinton-funded Trum-Russia Hoax.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s House Majority PAC received $6,000,000 from Sam Bankman-Fried in March 2022.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s Senate Majority PAC received $2,500,000.00 from Sam Bankman-Fried and Nishad Singh in May, June, and July 2022.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s PACs received $2,621,100.00 from Ryan David Salame in August and October of 2022.
GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy’s PACs received $2,105,000.00 from Ryan David Salame in June and March of 2022.
The most interesting donations, however, made to Republicans went to Max Miller (R-OH), Karoline Leavitt (R-NH), Ronny Jackson (R-TX), Steve Scalise (R-LA), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Tom Emmer (R-MN) and Kat Cammack (R-FL), who is a member of the House Freedom Caucus.
According to former Congressional Candidate Giglio, “It appears likely that these donations were made in an effort, to prevent a challenge to Kevin McCarthy as Speaker if the GOP were to win control of the House.”
Giglio also highlighted that the vast majority of money donated to Republican candidates came from FTX Executive Ryan David Salame in mid-October of 2022 once it became likely the GOP would win control of the House.
“We can’t know for sure, but it would be fair to assume that these October donations were made to court favor from members of the Party poised to take power in January 2023,” Giglio wrote.
Already the subject of an SEC Investigation, “it was likely that FTX Executives felt it was increasingly likely that Congress would open a simultaneous investigation into their criminal behavior… that is of course unless you buy them off,” Giglio pointed out.
The Conservative Populist concluded with a PRO TIP: If you are going to be under federal investigation, it’s always best to establish as much “good will” as you can with as many Senators as possible.
To Read David Giglio’s Full FTX Donation Breakdown & Analysis, Click Here.
