Reverse Midas touch: Why the indicted Crypto King is making everyone look horrible

[ad_1]

There are no heroes in the Sam Bankman-Fried saga.

Everyone looks bad.

Both political parties took money from the deposed crypto king. Liberal causes have taken money from the fallen crypto king. Media organizations took money from the fallen crypto king.

Federal regulators, while largely insulated from the insular world of cryptocurrency, which was the goal, however, did little to keep tabs on the now bankrupt FTX. Now that the company has cost unsuspecting investors billions in losses, the Justice Department, the SEC and the Commodites Futures Trading Commission have all rushed to file suits. But if Bankman-Fried has been playing with other people’s money since the time he founded FTX in 2019, as the indictment alleges, then why couldn’t they provide prior scrutiny? that the house of cards does not collapse?

TIME OF FTX FOUNDER’S ARREST ‘SUSPICIOUS’ BEFORE CONGRESSIONAL HEARING: LEE ZELDIN | FOX NEWS VIDEO

Democrats and the Biden campaign are looking bad because they received huge donations from Bankman-Fried, making him the second-biggest donor in the last cycle. Republicans look bad because they received a comparable amount in “dark money” donations (which Bankman-Fried says he didn’t want the liberal media to know about because it would ruin his narrative). And some Republicans look particularly bad because they wrote letters urging federal regulators to lay off crypto, then turned around and slammed the agencies after FTX’s implosion.

“Bankman-Fried orchestrated a massive, years-long fraud, embezzling billions of dollars of client funds from trading platforms for his own benefit and to help grow his crypto empire,”

Samuel Bankman-Fried leaves the District Court in Nassau, Bahamas on Dec. 13, 2022. The FTX founder is charged with eight counts of conspiracy and defrauding investors in his failed crypto exchange, according to the Tuesday’s indictment. (Mega for Fox News Digital)

Celebrities like Tom Brady and Larry David look bad because they fell for the Crypto King, although I don’t think they should be held liable in a class action lawsuit that named them.

Journalists look bad because they adored the guy. He was on the cover of Forbes and Fortune, which asked if he was “the next Warren Buffett”. There were Bahamas-based profiles in The New York Times (“he lives modestly for a billionaire, outspoken Brainiac”) and Politico (“cook for himself obsessed with the greater good for humanity” without ask a lot of skeptical questions). Instead, he was portrayed as an awkward nebbish who happened to be a genius.

KARINE-JEAN PIERRE DODGES QUESTION ABOUT FTX FOUNDER’S DONATIONS TO DEMOCRATS | FOX NEWS VIDEO

And there’s Bankman-Fried himself, who was on an apology tour saying yes, he was sloppy, he couldn’t be bothered to oversee the billions he had in two independent companies, he feels bad, but he is definitely not a scammer.

Now hell has to prove it.

Samuel Bankman-Fried leaves the District Court in Nassau, Bahamas on Dec. 13, 2022. The FTX founder is charged with eight counts of conspiracy and defrauding investors in his failed crypto exchange, according to the Tuesday’s indictment. (Mega for Fox News Digital)

And he is being held without bail by authorities in the Bahamas, as he awaits extradition to the United States.

There is no doubt that federal prosecutors had him arrested Monday night to prevent him from testifying at Hill’s hearing the following days. Why would they want to give him a forum to spout his bull of self-justification when they were about to file criminal charges?

Some pundits said it was too bad we didn’t hear from Bankman-Fried because his testimony would embarrass Democrats by ignoring the fact that he also admits to giving the GOP a lot of money.

Samuel Bankman-Fried leaves the District Court in Nassau, Bahamas on Dec. 13, 2022. The FTX founder is charged with eight counts of conspiracy and defrauding investors in his failed crypto exchange, according to the Tuesday’s indictment. (Mega for Fox Digital)

Besides, haven’t we heard a lot about the guy? The day before, he did a video interview with Forbes, saying, “I’ve been thinking about a lot of what happens when I get shitty, when I start to lose my bearings, when I start to lose focus and lose my focus on a lot of important things.”

But do not despair! Journalists ‘got’ his planned opening statement for the committee, wonder who was the source? and quickly published it anyway:

“I would like to begin by formally declaring, under oath: I screwed up. I know it doesn’t mean much to say I’m sorry. And so I dedicate myself as much as possible to doing good as clients.”

Sure, now that he’s spent his money.

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES

As for all the candidates, committees and media (including Vox, Semafor and Pro Publica) who have taken money from the Crypto King, most of them, with the exception of a few charitable donations, do not not offer to return the money.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Like I said, everyone looks bad.

Howard Kurtz is the host of FOX News Channel’s MediaBuzz (Sundays from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET). Based in Washington, DC, he joined the network in July 2013 and appears regularly on Special Report with Bret Baier and other programs.

[ad_2]