Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, is facing fraud and money laundering charges as he prepares for trial this week. In a new book by Michael Lewis titled “Going Infinite: the Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon,” it is revealed that Bankman-Fried explored the idea of paying former President Trump not to run for reelection, along with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, in an effort to prevent the former president and his supporters from participating in the election.
The book excerpt recounts a conversation between Lewis and Bankman-Fried during a plane ride to a 2022 dinner between Bankman-Fried and McConnell. Bankman-Fried had planned to contribute $15 million to $30 million to McConnell’s campaign, with the intention of defeating candidates aligned with Trump in the Senate races. The excerpt describes how Bankman-Fried viewed Trump’s actions as a threat to the government and the integrity of U.S. elections, comparing it to other existential threats such as pandemics, artificial intelligence, and climate change.
During the conversation, Bankman-Fried mentioned his consideration of paying Trump not to run for reelection, claiming that his team had discovered a back channel into the Trump operation and found out that Trump’s price for not running was $5 billion.
It’s worth noting that Bankman-Fried was one of President Biden’s top donors, contributing $5.2 million to his presidential campaign in 2020.
Bankman-Fried is now facing trial, with prosecutors accusing him of embezzling billions of dollars from FTX customer deposits. They allege that he used the stolen funds to support his hedge fund, invest in real estate, and make illegal campaign donations.
The Hill has reached out to the campaigns of Trump and McConnell for their comments on the matter.
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