The Dem’s FTX Scandal Is Only Just Beginning

Not only was crypto-billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried’s company, FTX, allegedly a fraud, but it spent huge sums on recent elections to get Democrats into office. Was this a case of massive election fraud? If so, it isn’t just Bankman-Fried who should be punished.

In case you’re not caught up on all this, FTX, a futures exchange for crypto-currencies including its own, exploded into the public’s attention just after the election. That’s when it was revealed that FTX had questionably transferred or “loaned”some $10 billion to its sister company, Alameda Research, to “fund risky bets,” a highly questionable move seemingly to shore up Alameda’s finances.

And yes, FTX was a big deal. It’s name is on an NBA arena. Its commercials featured NFL GOAT Tom Brady, as well as “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” creator Larry David.

That brought media reports about some of the money, around $1 billion, simply “disappearing.” That was followed by a host of regulatory agencies and prosecutors launching investigations of the company.

FTX has filed for bankruptcy, and its 30-year-old founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, has resigned.

As recently as January, the company’s market value was $32 billion. Bankman-Fried was very recently estimated to be worth $16 billion.

Today, both FTX and Bankman-Fried are worth zero. And the bizarre and sybaritic lifestyle of Bank-Friedman and a number of others who lived with him in a communal mansion in Bermuda have come to an abrupt end.

All of which has been covered to a fare-thee-well by the media, pretending it’s merely just about that old human sin, greed.

“I’m sorry. That’s the biggest thing,” Bankman-Fried tweeted out last week. “I f—ed up, and should have done better.”

But that’s not all of the story.

While news of FTX’s problems first started trickling out in early November, the midterm elections took place on Nov. 8. That was the very day the FTX story broke big, after a possible White Knight takeover of FTX by rival Binance was cancelled.

The full picture of potential criminality didn’t emerge until just after the election. Coincidence?

In addition to his other activities, Bankman-Fried was an ardent and generous donor to the Democratic Party.

How generous? “Bankman-Fried gave roughly $40 million to Democrats during the 2022 election cycle, making him one of the biggest donors to a fundraising juggernaut that helped stave off a Republican wave in the midterms,” noted the Washington Free Beacon.

Early in the year, the young Bankman-Fried talked about possibly giving as much as $1 billion to the Democrats. Even though he didn’t give that much, he’s No. 2 right behind socialist billionaire George Soros in Democratic Party donations for 2022.

He delivered $66,500 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign, a hefty $400,000 to the Democratic Grassroots Victory Fund, $6 million to the Pelosi Dems’ House Majority PAC, and a whopping $27 million to the Protect Our Future PAC. The latter two gave money only to Democrats.

You might never have heard of Bankman-Fried, but the White House did. After spending millions during the 2020 presidential campaign to support Democratic candidates and Joe Biden, and $40 million more this year, Bankman-Fried won access to the White House.

“Bankman-Fried and his team of lobbyists at FTX met with top Biden White House officials during visits on April 22, May 12, and May 13,” the Washington Free Beacon reports.

And, perhaps not surprisingly, he also hung out with former President Bill Clinton, who appeared at an FTX-sponsored conference on cryptocurrency in the Bahamas.

And then there’s this:

The FTX CEO’s family — consisting of his parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, and brother Gabe Bankman-Fried — has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates and actively worked with left-wing organizations committed to supporting Democrats. The four appear to have had subtle influence on the Democratic establishment for the better part of a decade.

‘We’re ambitious and looking to make a splash,’ Gabe Bankman-Fried said in an interview with NBC News in May.

Splash made.

There’s no crime in contributing to a political party. Unless, of course, the donations are illegal, and the Democrats knew it.

We have lots of questions. Was this all just a lone wolf leftist delivering money to his favorite far-left political party? Was he aided by Democratic officials, who knew FTX was little more than a Ponzi scheme but milked it like a cow anyway?

Why didn’t U.S. regulators, the Democrat-dominated Congress or law enforcement go after FTX before, given what now seem to be clear signs that his business model was questionable at best, criminal at worst?

At minimum, Dems should have to return their ill-gotten loot. They’re recipients of stolen property. Did they know that?

Americans deserve answers, given the enormous impact this bankrupt company had on recent elections. We hope the new House, now controlled by the Republicans, will add FTX and its political influence to the growing list of things that must be investigated to save our country from becoming a one-party state.

— Written by the I&I Editorial Board