Many in the crypto space have accused mainstream media of intentionally trying to water down the actions of FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is on a self-proclaimed mission to position Twitter as “the most accurate source of information.”
While the world still overcomes the shock of FTX’s collapse and the realization that SBF had been misappropriating users’ funds and engaging in shady investment practices via its sister trading firm, Will Manidis, CEO of ScienceIO — a healthcare data platform — tweeted that SBF made one of the “highest ROI trades of all time” by donating $40 million to the right politicians, who he claims have allowed him to get away with stealing over $10 billion.
That’s just the publicly disclosed number. His actual support of Dem elections is probably over $1B. The money went somewhere, so where did it go?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 3, 2022
Musk responded to the tweet, alleging that the amount of money SBF actually donated to Democratic candidates was over $1 billion, which would be way more than the publicly disclosed amount of $40 million. SBF previously admitted to making “dark” donations to the Republican Party. Musk asked:
“His actual support of Dem elections is probably over $1B. The money went somewhere, so where did it go?”
Meanwhile, United States House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters, a Democrat, and ranking member Patrick McHenry, a Republican, have requested that SBF appear in an investigative hearing scheduled for Dec. 13.
.@SBF_FTX, we appreciate that you’ve been candid in your discussions about what happened at #FTX. Your willingness to talk to the public will help the company’s customers, investors, and others. To that end, we would welcome your participation in our hearing on the 13th.
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) December 2, 2022
Polygon CEO Ryan Wyatt responded to Waters’ request by stating that “he’s [SBF] a criminal. What is happening.”
Related: FTX collapse drives curiosity around Sam Bankman-Fried, Google data shows
This latest round of backlash against SBF comes shortly after he gave interviews during The New York Times‘ DealBook Summit and to Good Morning America.
During his so-called “apology tour,” SBF has been portraying himself as a victim and even received a round of applause at the end of his DealBook Summit appearance. According to Twitter user and developer Naomi, “Watching SBF’s interview is kind of like watching Casey Anthony’s documentary. They’re so mechanical, they’re so inauthentic in their delivery. If you feel any emotion, at all, it slows people down. The way it is expressed is a separate subjective matter.”
Update (Dec. 5, 10:10 pm UTC): This article previously stated that Bankman-Fried admitted to giving backdoor donations to the Democratic Party. It has been updated to reflect that his dark donations went to the Republican Party.