7 ms·

The Get-Out-Of-Jail Free Card is real, and only costs a few $100m in donations to the right people.

hotpotamus 4y ago
That sounds more like a get-out-of-jail-for-hundreds-of-millions card. Though if this is the event that makes people realize that wealth inequality leads to all kinds of perversions of justice, perhaps that's a silver lining at least.
- nico 4y ago
  People have always known. But what are their options? Short of a revolution, people don’t really have the power or resources to make the necessary changes. Even after a revolution, you probably end up with the same issue: a pyramid-like power structure with similar levels of inequality, just different people in power.
rs999gti 4y ago
SBF was donating crazy amounts of money to Democrat PACs - https://newrepublic.com/article/169104/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-political-donations-democrats-republicans-congress https://newrepublic.com/article/169104/sam-bankman-fried-ftx... No word on if those Democrats or PACs will give back the dirty money
- Terretta 4y ago
  FTX donated slightly more to Republicans than Democrats. Based covered, with donor alignment selected for optics and press value.
  - chrchang523 4y ago
    Source? I agree with the "bases covered" big picture, but all the numbers I've seen so far have D > R.
    - belltaco 4y ago
      https://prospect.org/power/congressmembers-tried-to-stop-secs-inquiry-into-ftx/ https://prospect.org/power/congressmembers-tried-to-stop-sec...
      - chrchang523 4y ago
        You were only looking at the ~$570k assigned to specific candidates at the top. Look further down on the page: there's a $28000k donation to the Democratic "Protect our Future PAC", a $15000k donation to the Republican "American Dream Federal Action", ...
        gamblor956 4y ago
        What you're missing is that the Protect our Future PAC only participated in the primary campaign cycle, meaning intra-party elections. POF did not participate in the general election in November. If you look at donations based on when they were made, the GOP was the overwhelming recipient of FTX money for the general election in November, i.e., the election that mattered.
        chrchang523 4y ago
        Protect our Future PAC is just one of several donations that were enormously larger than the $286k R / $283k D total direct candidate donations. Meanwhile, just because a donation is received during the primary season doesn’t mean it can’t be spent during the general election period, when the candidate in question wins the primary.
  - nathanaldensr 4y ago
    Is there a difference? They're all grifters.
  - rs999gti 4y ago
    Source? Soros and SBF are first and second as Democrat top donors https://www.opensecrets.org/elections-overview/biggest-donors?cycle=2022&view=fc https://www.opensecrets.org/elections-overview/biggest-donor...
    - sgammon 4y ago
      man how many times does the list need to explain to you that Salame was a republican megadonor.
      - klohto 4y ago
        And how many time do you need to realize we are discussing SBF and not whole FTX. FTX was a child-like run cult that did what it wanted and every single individual had their agenda. When we are discussing Salame and FTX, bring this point up. The premise still stands that SBF was biggest personal contributor.
        sgammon 4y ago
        > The premise still stands that SBF was biggest personal contributor. he was not, Soros outweighs him, so does Bloomberg, i do not see your point
        sgammon 4y ago
        furthermore i would love to know why this demands a partisan lens when the whole of FTX was clearly co-mingling funds; the line between SBF's "personal" contributions and FTX's broader contributions as a network is likely governed more by campaign finance law than anything else
- chollida1 4y ago
  I don't think you were trying to make a political point by only referencing one party but it should be noted that FTX was a huge donor to both parties https://www.businessinsider.com/ftx-sam-bankman-fried-donated-millions-democrats-report-2022-11 https://www.businessinsider.com/ftx-sam-bankman-fried-donate... > Meanwhile, Ryan Salame, a fellow FTX senior executive, donated more than $23 million primarily to Republican candidates and efforts.
  - rs999gti 4y ago
    You're redirecting off SBF https://www.opensecrets.org/elections-overview/biggest-donors?cycle=2022&view=fc https://www.opensecrets.org/elections-overview/biggest-donor...
    - sgammon 4y ago
      no, he's merely noting that the FTX inner circle gave to both sides, which is important information.
- hotpotamus 4y ago
  Perhaps they already spent the money on the 2022 mid-terms? If the money is dirty, should they be able to get those dirty dollars back from the places they spent it?
  - spywaregorilla 4y ago
    The money is not "dirty" in the typical definition of the word. "Dirty" money needs to be "laundered" so that you can appear to have a genuine justification of having it. That is, it's basically just a matter of whether it was declared as income to tax authorities. The FTX money was all above board from that perspective. Taking money back from parties that FTX paid seems very unlikely.
    - elliekelly 4y ago
      There have been “clawbacks” in cases of major fraud before. Irving Picard is something of a legend for his ability to “recover” stolen funds for Madoff victims: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-amazing-madoff-clawback-1543620951 https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-amazing-madoff-clawback-154...
- wstuartcl 4y ago
  Donated to Republican and Democrat PACs (from the numbers being thrown around fairly evenly).
- belltaco 4y ago
  They were donating more or the same amount to Republican PACs. > Some of the “Blockchain Eight,” as the Prospect termed them in March, have benefited from crypto largesse. Five of the eight members received campaign donations from FTX employees, ranging from $2,900 to $11,600. Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC), one of the signatories, received half a million dollars in support from a Super PAC created by FTX co-CEO Ryan Salame. > More consequentially, Emmer was the head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm for House Republicans, this year. The NRCC’s associated super PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund, received $2.75 million from FTX in the 2022 cycle; $2 million from Salame in late September, and $750,000 from the company’s political action committee. > That money helped House Republicans win the majority in 2022. Though FTX has been portrayed as a Democratic firm, thanks to the high profile of former co-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, the company sprinkled around campaign donations fairly evenly, with a shade over 50 percent going directly to congressional Republicans and a shade under 50 percent to Democrats this cycle. > In an email, the SEC declined to comment. Six of the eight congressmembers have yet to respond https://prospect.org/power/congressmembers-tried-to-stop-secs-inquiry-into-ftx/ https://prospect.org/power/congressmembers-tried-to-stop-sec... >No word on if those Democrats or PACs will give back the dirty money Now you're just straight up lying on something that happened 10 days ago. https://popular.info/p/seven-politicians-are-returning-ftxs https://popular.info/p/seven-politicians-are-returning-ftxs
  - gamblor956 4y ago
    There's been a concentrated effort by the Republican party to try to link the FTX collapse to the other party, even though the Republican party actually received more contributions from FTX during the general election. Almost all of SBF's donations were during the primary, and he made almost no donations during the general election. This means his money might have helped influence who showed up on the November ballots he didn't spend anything to help one party win over the other. In contrast, almost all of the FTX's GOP spending, and all of the FTX executive's donations to the GOP, were during the general election cycle, and specifically to the GOP House races. This means that the GOP owes it's current majority in the house directly to stolen money donated to it by FTX and FTX executives.
tomjakubowski 4y ago
You're confident SBF won't be arrested and charged under a Democratic-controlled DOJ?
- ShivShankaran 4y ago
  He will be arrested, trial date will be set to few years later..case will drag on. He will get an year suspended sentence. He will be out on parole next day. I will soak my socks in vinegar and eat them on Livestream if I am wrong or if he gets the book thrown at him

That sounds more like a get-out-of-jail-for-hundreds-of-millions card. Though if this is the event that makes people realize that wealth inequality leads to all kinds of perversions of justice, perhaps that's a silver lining at least.

nico 4y ago
People have always known. But what are their options? Short of a revolution, people don’t really have the power or resources to make the necessary changes. Even after a revolution, you probably end up with the same issue: a pyramid-like power structure with similar levels of inequality, just different people in power.

rs999gti 4y ago

SBF was donating crazy amounts of money to Democrat PACs - https://newrepublic.com/article/169104/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-political-donations-democrats-republicans-congress https://newrepublic.com/article/169104/sam-bankman-fried-ftx... No word on if those Democrats or PACs will give back the dirty money

Terretta 4y ago
FTX donated slightly more to Republicans than Democrats. Based covered, with donor alignment selected for optics and press value.
- chrchang523 4y ago
  Source? I agree with the "bases covered" big picture, but all the numbers I've seen so far have D > R.
  - belltaco 4y ago
    https://prospect.org/power/congressmembers-tried-to-stop-secs-inquiry-into-ftx/ https://prospect.org/power/congressmembers-tried-to-stop-sec...
    - chrchang523 4y ago
      You were only looking at the ~$570k assigned to specific candidates at the top. Look further down on the page: there's a $28000k donation to the Democratic "Protect our Future PAC", a $15000k donation to the Republican "American Dream Federal Action", ...
      - gamblor956 4y ago
        What you're missing is that the Protect our Future PAC only participated in the primary campaign cycle, meaning intra-party elections. POF did not participate in the general election in November. If you look at donations based on when they were made, the GOP was the overwhelming recipient of FTX money for the general election in November, i.e., the election that mattered.
        chrchang523 4y ago
        Protect our Future PAC is just one of several donations that were enormously larger than the $286k R / $283k D total direct candidate donations. Meanwhile, just because a donation is received during the primary season doesn’t mean it can’t be spent during the general election period, when the candidate in question wins the primary.
- nathanaldensr 4y ago
  Is there a difference? They're all grifters.
- rs999gti 4y ago
  Source? Soros and SBF are first and second as Democrat top donors https://www.opensecrets.org/elections-overview/biggest-donors?cycle=2022&view=fc https://www.opensecrets.org/elections-overview/biggest-donor...
  - sgammon 4y ago
    man how many times does the list need to explain to you that Salame was a republican megadonor.
    - klohto 4y ago
      And how many time do you need to realize we are discussing SBF and not whole FTX. FTX was a child-like run cult that did what it wanted and every single individual had their agenda. When we are discussing Salame and FTX, bring this point up. The premise still stands that SBF was biggest personal contributor.
      - sgammon 4y ago
        > The premise still stands that SBF was biggest personal contributor. he was not, Soros outweighs him, so does Bloomberg, i do not see your point
      - sgammon 4y ago
        furthermore i would love to know why this demands a partisan lens when the whole of FTX was clearly co-mingling funds; the line between SBF's "personal" contributions and FTX's broader contributions as a network is likely governed more by campaign finance law than anything else
chollida1 4y ago
I don't think you were trying to make a political point by only referencing one party but it should be noted that FTX was a huge donor to both parties https://www.businessinsider.com/ftx-sam-bankman-fried-donated-millions-democrats-report-2022-11 https://www.businessinsider.com/ftx-sam-bankman-fried-donate... > Meanwhile, Ryan Salame, a fellow FTX senior executive, donated more than $23 million primarily to Republican candidates and efforts.
- rs999gti 4y ago
  You're redirecting off SBF https://www.opensecrets.org/elections-overview/biggest-donors?cycle=2022&view=fc https://www.opensecrets.org/elections-overview/biggest-donor...
  - sgammon 4y ago
    no, he's merely noting that the FTX inner circle gave to both sides, which is important information.
hotpotamus 4y ago
Perhaps they already spent the money on the 2022 mid-terms? If the money is dirty, should they be able to get those dirty dollars back from the places they spent it?
- spywaregorilla 4y ago
  The money is not "dirty" in the typical definition of the word. "Dirty" money needs to be "laundered" so that you can appear to have a genuine justification of having it. That is, it's basically just a matter of whether it was declared as income to tax authorities. The FTX money was all above board from that perspective. Taking money back from parties that FTX paid seems very unlikely.
  - elliekelly 4y ago
    There have been “clawbacks” in cases of major fraud before. Irving Picard is something of a legend for his ability to “recover” stolen funds for Madoff victims: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-amazing-madoff-clawback-1543620951 https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-amazing-madoff-clawback-154...
wstuartcl 4y ago
Donated to Republican and Democrat PACs (from the numbers being thrown around fairly evenly).
belltaco 4y ago
They were donating more or the same amount to Republican PACs. > Some of the “Blockchain Eight,” as the Prospect termed them in March, have benefited from crypto largesse. Five of the eight members received campaign donations from FTX employees, ranging from $2,900 to $11,600. Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC), one of the signatories, received half a million dollars in support from a Super PAC created by FTX co-CEO Ryan Salame. > More consequentially, Emmer was the head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm for House Republicans, this year. The NRCC’s associated super PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund, received $2.75 million from FTX in the 2022 cycle; $2 million from Salame in late September, and $750,000 from the company’s political action committee. > That money helped House Republicans win the majority in 2022. Though FTX has been portrayed as a Democratic firm, thanks to the high profile of former co-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, the company sprinkled around campaign donations fairly evenly, with a shade over 50 percent going directly to congressional Republicans and a shade under 50 percent to Democrats this cycle. > In an email, the SEC declined to comment. Six of the eight congressmembers have yet to respond https://prospect.org/power/congressmembers-tried-to-stop-secs-inquiry-into-ftx/ https://prospect.org/power/congressmembers-tried-to-stop-sec... >No word on if those Democrats or PACs will give back the dirty money Now you're just straight up lying on something that happened 10 days ago. https://popular.info/p/seven-politicians-are-returning-ftxs https://popular.info/p/seven-politicians-are-returning-ftxs
- gamblor956 4y ago
  There's been a concentrated effort by the Republican party to try to link the FTX collapse to the other party, even though the Republican party actually received more contributions from FTX during the general election. Almost all of SBF's donations were during the primary, and he made almost no donations during the general election. This means his money might have helped influence who showed up on the November ballots he didn't spend anything to help one party win over the other. In contrast, almost all of the FTX's GOP spending, and all of the FTX executive's donations to the GOP, were during the general election cycle, and specifically to the GOP House races. This means that the GOP owes it's current majority in the house directly to stolen money donated to it by FTX and FTX executives.

tomjakubowski 4y ago

You're confident SBF won't be arrested and charged under a Democratic-controlled DOJ?

ShivShankaran 4y ago
He will be arrested, trial date will be set to few years later..case will drag on. He will get an year suspended sentence. He will be out on parole next day. I will soak my socks in vinegar and eat them on Livestream if I am wrong or if he gets the book thrown at him