Recently, White House records made public revealed that FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, met with senior Biden administration officials in the White House on four occasions over the course of last year, including a just-disclosed visit on September 9th, 2022.
During a press conference on January 3rd, 2023, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted that “all meetings between White House officials and the fallen crypto mogul focused primarily on Bankman-Fried’s nonprofit pandemic preparedness initiatives.” She also stated that they discussed crypto and pandemic prevention.
Jean-Pierre said in response to a question from Bloomberg White House correspondent Josh Wingrove, that “The White House regularly engages with officials from a range of industries and sectors including leaders in business and labor and non-profits.”
FTX founder met on many occasions with Steve Ricchetti and Bruce Reed, two of President Biden’s senior-most advisors. They occupy offices just steps from the Oval Office, a sign of their status in the administration. And all of Mr. Bankman-Fried’s meetings with Mr. Ricchetti and Mr. Reed took place in the West Wing. Also, Gabriel Bankman-Fried, Mr. Bankman-Fried’s brother, also met them twice last year.
The records released at the end of December 2022 revealed that Mr. Bankman-Fried returned to the White House for a fourth meeting in September 2022, just weeks before his $32 Billion empire collapsed. While most of the meetings were held in the spring.
On his last visit to the White House, Mr. Bankman-Fried was lobbying lawmakers to pass the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA), a framework for crypto regulation.
After the sudden collapse of FTX and Mr. Bankman-Fried’s arrest in Bahamas last month, for eight criminal charges—including conspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering, and violation of federal campaign finance laws—the bill has since been put on hold.
Before the “bad-time” began for Mr. Bankman-Fried, the crypto executive donated around $46.5 million to political causes. That included $5 Million to a political action committee (PAC) that fueled a national pro-Biden ad blitz in the final weeks of the 2020 presidential election.
According to the media reports, the White House Press Secretary refused to comment regarding whether the President will return any donations made by Mr. Bankman-Fried, or thinks any other Democratic politicians should. As she said, “I don’t have anything to share”.
Last month, Mr. Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas on US fraud charges and soon extradited to the US. He pleads not guilty to fraud and other conspiracy charges. However, two of his associates, Gary Wang, co-founder at FTX, and Caroline Ellison, CEO of Alameda, have pleaded guilty to fraud and are cooperating with prosecutors.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while his post-graduation. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing along with being a developer. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2023/01/05/white-houses-claim-on-sam-bankman-fried-and-senior-biden-officials-meeting/