Most of the candidates who received direct campaign donations from FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried — almost all of whom were Democrats — said they intended to donate the money in the wake of the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange and his arrest earlier this week.
NBC News and CNBC contacted the 59 Democratic and GOP candidates, many of whom won their races, who received individual contributions from Bankman-Fried that were reported to the Federal Elections Commission in 2021 and 2022. Twenty-five said they plan to donate the money to charity, while three others said they intended to return the donation or hold it until federal investigators gave them next steps. Three campaigns could not be reached. …
Many Democrats who received individual contributions from the disgraced FTX CEO said they chose to donate the funds to charitable organizations local to their states or districts. Bankman-Fried’s arrest earlier this week came after the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange he co-founded, FTX, which is now in bankruptcy proceedings. News of the FTX’s fall first prompted questions to lawmakers about Bankman-Fried’s political donations.
[Why wouldn’t they give the funds back to SBF’s victims? — Ed]
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