New York Times gets universally torched over bizarre article sympathetic to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried



The New York Times received universal scorn from critics after they published a sympathetic article about Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

The article by Rob Copeland documented how some residents of the Bahamas were sympathetic to the plight of the crypto-entrepreneur because he tips well and had brought many wealthy crypto investors to their island nation.

\u201cIn the U.S., Sam Bankman-Fried is persona non grata. But in interviews across the Bahamas, residents say that his crimes were hardly comparable to the gang violence of the island, and expressed fears of economic fallout if crypto investors don't return. https://t.co/aUeAnImTbT\u201d
— The New York Times (@The New York Times) 1672081804

The story was immediately excoriated by critics on social media who expressed bewilderment at the framing of what might be the biggest financial scandal in U.S. history.

"What the f*** IS this s***? Pretty hard to argue at this point that @nytimes is trying to normalize financial crime," responded crypto columnist David Morris.

"What even is this take??? The guy who stole billions as part of a ponzi scheme wasn't that bad because are other crimes in the Bahamas and some people associated with FTX tipped delivery drivers well?" said another critic.

"Oh my God this is real," replied Democratic strategist Neera Tanden.

"If you ever want to show someone how American journalism’s concern about crime is itself an ideology you might compare this article to say, how the New York Times covers destitute people stealing from Walgreens," responded criminal defense attorney David Menschel.

"NYT: forget about the economic fallout of rich people crimes and focus on the economic fallout of poor people crimes, even though poor people crimes are often the economic fallout of rich people crimes," read another critical tweet.

Bankman-Fried was arrested and extradited to the United States for numerous fraud crimes involving the implosion of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. His girlfriend Caroline Ellison pled guilty to related charges and is cooperating with the government over her role in running Alameda Research, the privately controlled hedge fund at the center of the financial scandal.

Bankman-Fried was once estimated to be worth $16 billion. He was released on $250 million bail while awaiting trial.

Here's more about the collapse of FTX:

The FTX Collapse, Explained | What Went Wrong | WSJwww.youtube.com

Could FTX CEO and Democrat megadonor Sam Bankman-Fried get 'Epsteined'?



On "The News & Why It Matters," BlazeTV hosts Sara Gonzales and Alex Stein, along with actor and director Matthew Marsden, talked about the ongoing saga of Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO and founder of FTX cryptocurrency who is accused of stealing billions of dollars from the customers of his now-collapsed company.

Bankman-Fried faces up to life in prison on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the Federal Election Commission and commit campaign finance violation. He allegedly used billions of dollars from FTX customers for his own personal use, to repay loans owed by Alameda Research, and to donate millions of dollars to political campaigns.

He was also the Democrats' second-biggest campaign donor, second only to George Soros. Are we about to see another Jeffrey Epstein situation?

Watch the video below to catch the conversation or find full episodes of "The News & Why It Matters" episodes here. Can't watch? Download the podcast here.


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Watch Major Dem Try to End FTX Questioning, Then This Happens | DM CLIPS | Rubin Report

Watch Major Dem Try to End FTX Questioning, Then This Happens | DM CLIPS | Rubin Report

Democrats facing significant pressure to return donations from liberal megadonor Sam Bankman-Fried



Prior to the epic collapse of his crypto exchange company, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried made a name for himself as a Democrat megadonor, second only to leftist billionaire George Soros in the last election cycle. Democrat lawmakers are now facing pressure to return millions of dollars in political donations, particularly as FTX faces scrutiny for the possible misuse of funds and defrauding customers.

Democrat coffers

According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, the supermajority of Bankman-Fried's personal political donations went to Democrats and leftist groups.

TheBlaze previously reported that Bankman-Fried — now "under supervision" in the Bahamas for potential fraud charges — donated $10 million to then-candidate Joe Biden in 2020 and spent at least $39,826,856 this year in an effort to help Democrats win their House races.

FTX funneled $27 million through the leftist PAC Protect Our Future, accounting for nearly 95% of the funds raised by the PAC.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) benefited from the Senate Majority PAC and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) from the House Majority PAC, to both of which Bankman-Fried and FTX executive Nishad Singh gifted millions of dollars.

Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) were recipients of maximum donations. Failed Democrat candidate Beto O'Rourke also secured $1 million in from the FTX founder in 2022. The lengthy list of Democrat recipients goes on and has been posted by Open Secrets.

Legal and public pressure

Bloomberg reported that the House Financial Services and Senate Banking committees plan to hold December hearings to get to the bottom of FTX's downfall and its potential malfeasance.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who announced her hearing with Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry (N.C.), told CNBC, "We will be a part of what is going on with these hearings and investigations, and we will do everything that we can to expose any violations that were obviously made."

"The 'effective altruism' that Democrat megadonor Sam Bankman-Fried peddled is perfectly in line with the radical left's efforts to redefine a corporate purpose," said Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.). "The House Financial Services Committee will work to expose any impropriety that led to this historic collapse."

Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are investigating the circumstances of FTX's bankruptcy and looking into whether FTX violated securities laws when it allegedly moved customer funds to Bankman-Fried's trading firm Alameda Research, reported ABC News.

It is presently unclear whether the Democrat megadonor lined Democrats' pockets with the cash of customers, who are now collectively out billions of dollars.

A lawsuit was filed on Nov. 16, claiming that Bankman-Fried and his celebrity accomplices are behind losses to American consumers in the neighborhood of $11 billion.

Author Miranda Devine told "Fox & Friends" last week that a "lot of people have lost money and have been ripped off."

Noting that Bankman-Fried visited the Biden White House several times this year, Devine added, "And the Democrats, with their $40 million that they got at least this cycle to win the midterms, plus the $10 million that this guy put into Biden's campaign in 2020, they really owe it to the victims of this scam to give it back."

To keep or not to keep

In light of multiple investigations, consumer actions, and social pressure to do the right thing or at the very least distance themselves from "the next Warren Buffett," some Democrats are ditching Bankman-Fried's donations, in certain cases giving it away to liberal charities.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a spokesman for Gillibrand claimed the Democrat senator donated the money she had taken from Bankman-Fried to the Bronx nonprofit Ariva, Inc..

The Daily Beast contacted 26 lawmakers to ask whether they would keep the cash thrown their way by Bankman-Fried.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.) claimed they would give away their donations to charities.

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said he had spent the money to "drive turnout" for failed Democrat candidate Andrea Salinas.

Just as Pelosi and Schumer did not respond to the WSJ's requests for comments, Democrat Reps. Lucy McBath (Ga.) and Salud Carbajal (Calif.) wouldn't tell the Daily Beast what they planned to do with their Bankman-Fried cash.

Those who have yet to act may be prompted to soon.

Kathy Bazoian Phelps, a partner at Raines Feldman LLP, told the Washington Examiner that there "is a legal basis potentially to seek the return of those monies that were transferred under both the bankruptcy code and state statutes, what are called fraudulent transfer laws."

"There are defenses that can be asserted, there are certain exemptions, so there is a chance that a lot of those issues will get played out in court, but those transfers will certainly be examined," added Phelps.

John Fund, writing for the National Review, suggested that if a movie is ever made on the basis of author Michael Lewis' book about Sam Bankman-Fried, it may be prudent for the final credits to "feature a list of all of the politicians in both parties who ever took FTX's money and didn't return it."

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CRYPTO CRASH: The REAL story behind Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX scandal



The fall of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried has sent shock waves through the cryptocurrency world. But is this just another failed Ponzi scheme, or is there more to this story? On this episode of "The Glenn Beck Podcast," Glenn got a “Bitcoin for Dummies” guide from Marty Bent, who explained what actually happened with FTX, where he believes the markets will go from here, and whether this is connected at all to Bankman-Fried's massive donations to the Democrat Party.

Marty has devoted his career to safeguarding financial freedom from the tyranny of the government and elites — a major focus of his newsletter “Marty’s Bent” and podcasts, including “Tales from the Crypt.” He’s critical of the globalist vision for our financial future, which he sees as the result of a “progressive” movement to get rid of God.

On the podcast, Marty warned that the FTX scandal could make a convenient excuse for centralizing Bitcoin and ushering in more state control, mass surveillance, ESG, and social credit scores. In fact, he said, the Federal Reserve’s push for a digital dollar has already begun.

Watch the full podcast with Marty Bent below:


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