Center for Responsive Politics’ OpenSecrets Follows the Money
OpenSecrets analysis finds “three executives at FTX contributed almost $26 million this election cycle as of March 31” however, “the total is likely closer to $40 million based on FEC disclosures filed after March 31,2022, including a $10 million donation from Bankman-Fried to Protect Our Future PAC and a $3 million donation from co-CEO Ryan Salame to his own super PAC, American Dream Federal Action.”
Corruption, Quid pro quo: Appearance too often is Reality
The OpenSecrets authors report that in 2021 “Lawmakers introduced 35 bills related to cryptocurrency, blockchain technology and a central bank digital currency;” in 2022, “Congress introduced a record 50 bills that would further shape the crypto and blockchain landscape.”
Also in March of 2022, U.S. President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr “issued a highly-anticipated Executive Order about crypto,” an order that “was generally well-received by the (crypto) industry.” The order “lays out the administration’s policy priorities.” It “instructs several agencies to release reports on topics such as crypto regulations, environmental concerns surrounding digital currencies, and options regarding issuance of central bank digital currencies.”
OpenSecrets News and Analysis June 6, 2022 “Crypto industry executives spend millions on political contributions as Washington weighs industry regulations,” by Taylor Giorno and Emily Murnane https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2022/06/crypto-industry-executives-spend-millions-on-political-contributions-as-washington-weighs-industry-regulations/
Excerpt
Amount
Date
Recipient
|
BANKMAN-FRIED, SAMUEL STANFORD, CA $2,000,000 January 18, 2022 GMI PAC BANKMAN-FRIED, SAMUEL NASSAU, BAHAMAS $9,000,000 February 4, 2022 Protect Our Future PAC BANKMAN-FRIED, SAMUEL NASSAU $1,000,000 April 18, 2022 America United (Carey) BANKMAN-FRIED, SAM LAS VEGAS, NV $500,000 May 19, 2022 Senate Majority PAC
BANKMAN-FRIED, SAM CHICAGO, IL $105,000 June 10, 2022 Alabama Conservatives Fund OpenSecrets “Bankman-Fried, Sam: Donor Detail,” based on data released by the FEC on Friday, September 23, 2022, https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/donor_detail/2022?id=U0000004705&type=I&super_only=N&name=Bankman-Fried%2C+Sam |
BANKMAN-FRIED, SAMUEL NASSAU, BAHAMAS $4,000,000 March 15, 2022 Protect Our Future PAC
BANKMAN-FRIED, SAMUEL $6,000,000 April 4, 2022 House Majority PAC
BANKMAN-FRIED, SAMUEL NASSAU, BAHAMAS $10,000,000 April 14, 2022 Protect Our Future PAC
BANKMAN-FRIED, SAMUEL NASSAU $300,000 April 22, 2022 Opportunity for Tomorrow
BANKMAN-FRIED, SAMUEL NASSAU BAHAMAS, ZZ $250,000 May 25, 2022 Democratic Majority for Israel
BANKMAN-FRIED, SAMUEL NASSAU, BAHAMAS $4,000,000 June 13, 2022 Protect Our Future PAC
OpenSecrets “Bankman-Fried, Sam: Donor Detail,” based on data released by the FEC on Friday, September 23, 2022, https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/donor_detail/2022?id=U0000004705&type=I&super_only=N&name=Bankman-Fried%2C+Sam |
Stanford, California-born, MIT-educated Samuel Bankman-Fried (aka SBF) is founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.US (its U.S. affiliate and Alameda Research, a quantitative cryptocurrency trading firm); an American entrepreneur, investor and former billionaire, his peak net worth estimated at $26 billion; October 2022 estimated at $10.5 billion; Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated: “by November 11, 2022, “Bankman-Fried (had) no material wealth.” Wikipedia, “Sam Bankman-Fried,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Bankman-Fried
2021–2022 (June – February)
Samuel Bankman-Fried finances U.S. Democratic and Republican political parties
Direct donations went to the political campaigns of senators Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Ben Sasse of Nebraska.
FTX CEO SBF Contributions 2022 (through August 15, 2022)
$105,000 to “conservatives”
$35,872,000 to “liberals”
2021–2022 (election cycle) Bankman-Fried (bought, lobbied, advised but no pressure)
Second-largest individual donor (behind Central European native multi-billionaire George Soros) to Democratic causes
Total SBF Donations: $39.8 million
November 11, 2022
Bankman-Fried resigns as CEO of FTX and was replaced by John J. Ray III.
FTX and related entities file for bankruptcy in Delaware
Bankman-Fried is then interviewed by the Royal Bahamas Police Force
Reported November 14, 2022 at BizPac Review
“A scandal of potentially party-ending proportions has rocked the crypto world, taking billions of customer funds down with it.”About BizPac Review
“Crypto billionaire pumped $40M into Dem Party before midterms, just before bankruptcy scandal”
“Just days after the midterm elections …, Sam Bankman-Fried, aka ‘SBF,’ saw his business, cryptocurrency exchange FTX, file for bankruptcy after it funneled $40 million to the Democratic Party.” BizPac Review, “Crypto billionaire pumped $40M into Dem Party before midterms, just before bankruptcy scandal,” Melissa Fine, November 14, 2022, https://www.bizpacreview.com/2022/11/14/crypto-billionaire-pumped-40m-into-dem-party-before-midterms-just-before-bankruptcy-scandal-1309032/
Various sources list BizPac Review as an Arlington, Virginia (Metropolitan Washington, DC)-headquartered online news publishing company providing political news and analysis that began online posting in January 2011.” In late 2020, BizPacReview “was sold to a … company in Virginia.”
BizPac Review founder Jack Furnari (Gioachino (Jack) Vincent Furnari) owns Jolt Media, Inc, “a for-profit S corporation registered in Florida.”
According to the IRS, “S corporations are corporations that elect to pass corporate income, losses, deductions, and credits through to their shareholders for federal tax purposes. Shareholders of S corporations report the flow-through of income and losses on their personal tax returns and are assessed tax at their individual income tax rates. This allows S corporations to avoid double taxation on the corporate income. S corporations are responsible for tax on certain built-in gains and passive income at the entity level.” Source: Internal Revenue Service https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/s-corporationsFurnari’s Jolt Media Inc owns FloridaJolt.com and its predecessor, PBCJolt.com. Furnari is President and CEO of JoltMedia Inc, a Trustee of BizPac, and a founder of BizPacReview.com, a “conservative” news website. According to his website, Furnari’s occupation is entrepreneur, publisher, columnist, and former political consultant. He “has written for the Sun-Sentinel and the Boca Raton News.”
https://www.bizpacreview.com/about-us/
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/bizpac-review
https://floridajolt.com/about
White House Promotes Digital Currency
March 2022
Excerpt
“We must support technological advances that promote responsible development and use of digital assets.”Federal Register THE WHITE HOUSE March 9, 2022, Filed 3-11-22; 8:45 am] [FR Doc. 2022-05471: “Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets: A Presidential Document by the Executive Office of the President on 03/14/2022 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/03/14/2022-05471/ensuring-responsible-development-of-digital-assets
“The United States has an interest in ensuring that digital asset technologies and the digital payments ecosystem are developed, designed, and implemented in a responsible manner that includes privacy and security in their architecture, integrates features and controls that defend against illicit exploitation, and reduces negative climate impacts and environmental pollution, as may result from some cryptocurrency mining.”
“The nine reports submitted to the President to date, consistent with the EO’s deadlines, reflect the input and expertise of diverse stakeholders across government, industry, academia, and civil society. Together, they articulate a clear framework for responsible digital asset development and pave the way for further action at home and abroad.”
September 2022
Excerpt
“A ‘digital dollar’ may seem far-fetched, but modern technology could make it a real possibility.The White House, September 16, 2022, “FACT SHEET: White House Releases First-Ever Comprehensive Framework for Responsible Development of Digital Assets https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/09/16/fact-sheet-white-house-releases-first-ever-comprehensive-framework-for-responsible-development-of-digital-assets/
A United States central bank digital currency (CBDC) would be a digital form of the U.S. dollar. … [T]he U.S. has been closely examining the implications of, and options for, issuing a CBDC. If the U.S. pursued a CBDC, there could be many possible benefits, such as facilitating efficient and low-cost transactions, fostering greater access to the financial system, boosting economic growth, and supporting the continued centrality of the U.S. within the international financial system. However, a U.S. CBDC could also introduce a variety of risks, as it might affect everything ranging from the stability of the financial system to the protection of sensitive data.
Notably, these benefits and risks might vary significantly based on how the CBDC system is designed and deployed. That is why ‘Executive Order 14067, Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets,’ placed the highest urgency on research and development efforts into the potential design and deployment options of a U.S. CBDC. The Executive Order directed the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), in consultation with other Federal departments and agencies, to submit to the President a technical evaluation for a potential U.S. CBDC system.”
The White House, September 16, 2022, “Technical Possibilities for a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency,” by Dr. Alondra Nelson, head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Alexander Macgillivray, Principal Deputy United States Chief Technology Officer, Nik Marda, Policy Advisor https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/09/16/technical-possibilities-for-a-u-s-central-bank-digital-currency/
“Executive Order 14067—Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets
March 09, 2022,” JOSEPH R. BIDEN, 46th President of the United States: 2021 ‐ present “By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States”
Executive Order 14067—Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets
March 09, 2022 https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-14067-ensuring-responsible-development-digital-assets
Perception is Reality and
this Ship of State cannot much longer endure
the gale winds of greed, graft, and corruption.
Copyright © Carolyn LaDelle Bennett
Author’s links
www.BennettsAmericanEpitaph.com
https://www.facebook.com/carolynladelle.bennett
https://insightbeyondtodaysnews.blogspot.com/
nolandanisland@hotmail.com
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