White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was sweating bullets on Tuesday as reporters grilled her on both sides concerning several meetings top Biden officials had with former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who is currently facing several fraud and money laundering charges. You can typically judge a person by the company they keep, and yeah, given the kind of folks who work in the Biden administration, it makes total sense to have Bankman-Fried show up to the White House on a regular basis.
The Daily Wire reported, “Bankman-Fried garnered controversy after users learned that he commingled funds between cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX and sister trading firm Alameda Research, losing untold billions’ worth of assets as customers rushed to withdraw their balances. The disgraced entrepreneur’s extensive political connections came to light in the weeks after his company’s bankruptcy, including the $39 million he donated to Democrats ahead of the midterms and four meetings he was granted at the White House with top officials Steve Richetti and Bruce Reed.”
The press secretary was then questioned by a reporter concerning the meetings and was asked to provide “any sort of summary of what has been discussed” during a press briefing held on Tuesday. Jean-Pierre replied by stating that officials talked about “pandemic prevention” and “general information on the cryptocurrency industry” with Bankman-Fried, going on to add that the administration has been supportive of new regulations concerning digital assets.
“The White House regularly engages with officials from a range of industries and sectors, including leaders in business and labor and nonprofits,” Jean-Pierre commented during the briefing.
The Daily Wire reported, “Beyond emerging as one of the top overall political contributors during the midterm elections, Bankman-Fried was the second-largest donor to the campaign which successfully placed President Joe Biden in the White House. Reporters questioned Jean-Pierre last month on whether the administration believes Democratic organizations should return the funds donated by Bankman-Fried; she declined to answer the question by invoking the Hatch Act, which limits most federal employees from certain political and campaign activities.”
“That is still the case,” Jean-Pierre went on to stated Tuesday when she was pushed to answer on the matter. “I don’t have anything to share or any change of my comments that I’ve made before on this.”
Crooks are attracted to other crooks. It’s why so many bad guys form gangs, mafias, and other criminal organizations. They figure they stand a better chance of successfully carrying out scams, schemes, robberies, and so on, when they combine their skills and talents. Which is exactly why the left in the White House was so gung-ho about connecting with Sam Bankman-Fried. Two peas in a pod.
“Gabriel Bankman-Fried, the younger brother of Bankman-Fried and the head of the organization Guarding Against Pandemics, also participated in one of the meetings and received a rendezvous of his own. Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, the brothers’ parents, are well-connected within Democratic circles,” the report revealed.
“The Senate Majority PAC, which exists to elect Democrats to the upper chamber of Congress, announced plans to return $3 million donated by Bankman-Fried and Nishad Singh, who served as head of engineering for FTX. The Democratic National Committee, as well as the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, issued similar commitments as bankruptcy lawyers seek to claw back funds on behalf of customers and investors,” the Daily Wire continued.
So who benefited from the donations made by Bankman-Fried? Try House Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Sen. Joe Manchin from West Virginia, Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Sen. Dick Durbin from Illinois, and Sen. Patty Murray from Washington.
Gee, a whole group of Democrats and progressives.
“Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to eight charges, which include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the Federal Election Commission through campaign finance violations. Mark Cohen, a lawyer for Bankman-Fried who formerly defended Jeffrey Epstein confidant Ghislaine Maxwell, successfully requested that U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan permit the sealing of the names and addresses of two individuals who secured Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bond due to attention drawn to the case, which has dominated headlines for more than two months,” the report concluded.
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