FTX’s disgraced co-founder, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), gave $5.2 million to Joe Biden’s campaign in 2020 and to the Democratic Party leading up to the US midterm election cycle. After donating more than $40 million, three major Democratic organizations plan to return 2.2% of their funds, or $1 million, to the now-defunct crypto exchange. Of the $1 million total, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has set aside $815,000 to return to the bankrupt estate.
The DNC will return just 2.2% of the funds donated by the disgraced FTX co-founder to the now-defunct crypto exchange
Prior to his arrest, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was known to have donated significant amounts to the Democrats. In fact,estimatesthat one in three members of Congress received direct contributions from SBF and his entourage. after 2020, SBF allegedly made substantial contributions to Democrats and undisclosed contributions to Republican candidates. in 2020, SBF was Joe Biden’s campaign made the second largest monetary donation to the current president, giving $5.2 million.
At a press briefing on December 13, 2022, a reporteraskedWhite House Press Secretary Carine Jean-Pierre asked if the administration would return the funds; Jean-Pierre declined to comment, citing the Hatch Act. Jean-Pierre said, “Anything related to political contributions will be referred to the DNC from here. “SBF is the second largest donor to the Democratic Party under George Soros and has given significant funds to Joe Biden’s campaign, in addition to other contributions for the U.S. midterm elections.
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records and opensecrets.org data, SBF has contributed at least $40 million to the Democratic Party. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has suggested that SBF may have given considerably more to the Democratic Party over the years, possibly reaching $1 billion. The bankrupt estate is now seeking to have the $45.2 million it gave to Democratic candidates, political action committees, and Biden returned to the company so it can repay its creditors. The three main Democratic groups plan to return $1 million, which represents about 2.2% of SBF’s total $45.2 million in contributions.
According to various news publications, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee plan to return$353,000 tothe DNC, which will also return $815,000 to the bankrupt FTX estate.” A DNC spokespersonsaidthat “in light of allegations of possible campaign finance violations by Bankman Freed, funds have been set aside to return $815,000 in contributions after 2020. “We will return the funds as soon as we receive proper instructions in legal proceedings.”
Returning $1 million or 2.2% of the funds to the bankrupt estate would still leave $44.2 million that SBF gave to the party’s PAC and candidates. It is noteworthy that the Democrats have not offered to return the entire balance, and some U.S. bureaucrats have volunteered to donate this money to charity
. The concern is that these funds may have been obtained by improper means and may be seen as rewarding and justifying such actions.
Moreover, returning only 2.2% of the funds to the bankruptcy foundation could be seen as a political rather than a moral calculation; whether the FTX debtors would be satisfied with receiving only 2.2% of the funds, or a larger portion of the political contributions made by Bankman-Fried It is unclear whether they will seek to reclaim it.
Image Credit: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
