White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to comment and dodged questions pertaining to if President Joe Biden is planning to return the political donations worth $5.2M from ex-FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
Will the president give the contribution back? In a news conference on December 13, Associated Press reporter Zeke Miller questioned, “Does he call on all politicians who received campaign contributions that may have been made using consumer money to repay those funds?”
Jean-Pierre said, “I’m protected here by the Hatch Act,” adding that she was “restricted in what I can say.”
She referred to the Democratic National Committee, which oversees the U.S. Democratic Party and is a part of it, saying, “Anything that’s linked to political donations, from here I would have to send you to the DNC.” Biden is a member of the DNC.
A federal statute known as the Hatch Act forbids anyone working for the executive branch of government from becoming engaged in political campaigning.
Miller pressed, “I’m seeking the president’s view, however. She was “protected by the Hatch Act,” Jean-Pierre said once again, adding:
“I just can’t talk to political contributions or anything related to that I cannot speak about it from here.”
Miller insisted once again on Jean-answer Pierre’s to Biden’s viewpoint, to which she replied that she was unable to discuss “even his views, even his ideas about the contributions, donations” since she was unable to do so from this position.
On December 13, Bankman-Fried was accused of breaking many campaign finance regulations, including those governing donations, hindering the FEC’s operations, and making contributions on behalf of other people.
With his $5.2 million in donations, he was the second-largest “CEO-contributor” to Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, behind only the $56 million from media tycoon Michael Bloomberg.
In relation to the SBF charge, a counsel for SDNY said: “You can conduct fraud in shorts and T-shirts in the sun.”
The creator of FTX contributed significantly to the Democratic party in the 2022 midterm elections, coming in second place overall with $36.8 million going to its candidates.
While Bankman-Fried acknowledged to making so-called dark money contributions in an interview with cryptocurrency YouTuber Tiffany Fong on November 16, stating he “donated about the same to both parties,” public records reveal that he gave just over $240,000 to Republicans during the midterm elections.
Due to bankruptcy proceedings, politicians who received political donations from Sam Bankman-Fried and other FTX officials may be required to refund the money to the bankruptcy trustee in any instance.
According to a recent story, employees at FTX may have political contributions worth up to $73 million recalled in order to satisfy the debts owed by the defunct exchange.
In an effort to separate themselves from the firm and its contributions, several politicians have already resorted to donating their money to charity.
