Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried reportedly hobnobbed with a number of high-profile Democrat figures, including former President Bill Clinton, before his company’s collapse and his December arrest.
The meetings reportedly started with New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
“After an alleged meeting with NYC Mayor Eric Adams in March 2022 at Osteria La Baia, which offers customers ‘a journey to Italy without leaving Manhattan,’ Bankman-Fried ventured back to Manhattan on Sept. 16 to meet with Hochul from 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at (most likely) the Capital Grille, whose menu features filet mignon, ‘a timeless entrée prepared to your liking,'” Fortune magazine exclusively reported Wednesday.
Cellular phone data later obtained through a forensic analysis of Bankman-Fried’s phone confirmed that he did indeed meet with both Adams and Hochul.
Yet neither Adams’ office nor Hochul’s office were willing to offer Fortune magazine any explanation for why they met with him.
Sam Bankman-Fried also had meals with NY Gov. Kathy Hochul and NYC Mayor Eric Adams pic.twitter.com/ZKaluhylRh
— Jacob Shamsian ⚖️ (@JayShams) October 18, 2023
But it gets worse.
Days later on Sept.20th, the accused conman met with former President Clinton from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the New York Hilton Midtown.
“Cell data, again, confirmed that he was in the vicinity. And yet again, media representatives at the Clinton Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fortune on the details of said encounter,” Fortune magazine notes.
Sam Bankman-Fried had dinner with Saudi sovereign wealth fund/Aramco head Yasir Al-Rumayyan in NYC, per an exhibit shown in court yesterday.
At the time, SBF was trying to fill an ~$8 billion hole in FTX.
The Saudis didn’t end up buying FTX stake, per Caroline Ellison. pic.twitter.com/0Cj3p8M4Yk
— Jacob Shamsian ⚖️ (@JayShams) October 18, 2023
A day earlier, SBF had a meeting with Bill Clinton. pic.twitter.com/1w9cLtqaYz
— Jacob Shamsian ⚖️ (@JayShams) October 18, 2023
These meetings happened just a few months before FTX collapsed and Bankman-fried was charged in December with wire fraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, and campaign finance law violations.
However, the campaign finance law violation was later dropped, prompting outrage given as prosecution for campaign finance violations would have undoubtedly laid bare his deep ties to the Democrat Party and alleged ties to the Republican Party.
“Bankman-Fried donated $46.5 million to the Democrats in 2022, making him the party’s second-largest donor behind George Soros that year,” according to MarketWatch.
“Much of the money went to various political action committees, with more than half of his donations going to the Protect Our Future PAC, which advocated for pandemic preparedness,” the financial news website notes.
All this is relevant because it’s been proven that Bankman-Fried’s ties with the Clintons (including Hillary) had helped him immensely with duping FTX’s investors.
“Bill Clinton was paid north of $250,000 when he spoke at the disgraced FTX CEO’s Crypto Bahamas Conference in April. … At the over-the-top tropical shindig, the ex-US president along with former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair were famously photographed onstage next to Bankman-Fried, who appeared wearing shorts and a T-shirt,” the New York Post exclusively reported in January.
“Shortly thereafter, Bill and Hillary Clinton invited the 30-year-old Bankman-Fried — known as ‘SBF’ in crypto circles — to speak at their annual Clinton Global Initiative in New York — an effective endorsement of the former FTX CEO that played a pivotal role in elevating his reputation among politicians and deep-pocketed investors alike.”
Here’s the key: “People close to the Clintons say the power couple’s relationship with the scruffy 30-year-old cryptocurrency executive follows a familiar script: buzzy business leaders gain credibility by latching on to the Clintons — and in return, the Clintons get a check.”
“The Clintons’ involvement gave SBF some air cover,” a former confidante told the Post.
And that “air cover” allowed him to swindle investors out of billions of dollars. In fairness to Democrats, many of them have vowed to give back the money that he gave them.
“Political action committees like the Democrats’ Senate Majority PAC vowed to return millions. Beto O’Rourke’s Texas gubernatorial campaign returned $1 million, while Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill) and incoming house minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) gave their FTX donations to charity,” according to the Post.
But not the Clintons. They’ve “remained silent.”
“Legal experts say it’s unlikely Clinton’s speaking fee will be clawed back, but critics say it’s unseemly to hold onto the cash when thousands of people have lost retirements and savings at the hands of Bankman-Fried,” the Post notes.
“I don’t think every public figure has to give back every dollar from every tarnished source, but it’s obviously wrong to hold onto money the orchestrator of a Ponzi scheme paid you to lend their grift credibility,” Jeff Hauser, the founder and director of the Revolving Door Project, told the Post.
“They should just apologize and give the money back now. It’s only going to get messier,” another insider said.