House Financial Services Committee Chairman Maxine Waters (D-CA) dodged questions about whether Democrats should return donations from former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Waters said that Republicans and Democrats benefitted from FTX donations, saying, “Well, I don’t want to get into that. As a matter of fact, both sides, Democrats and Republicans, have received donations. So thank you.”
Waters added that the committee will hold a hearing in December to “explore exactly what has taken place” with FTX.
Sam Bankman-Fried contributed millions to Democrat candidates during the 2022 midterm elections; he reportedly donated roughly $38 million to various candidates and PACs.
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and chief executive officer of FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange, speaks during the Institute of International Finance (IIF) annual membership meeting in Washington, DC, on Oct. 13, 2022. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Daily Beast noted that many Democrat candidates and politicians had received donations from FTX:
The Daily Beast reached out to more than 25 lawmakers that received money and reported that some said they’ll give the money to charity. Other congressmen said they spent it to boost other Democratic candidates, and some didn’t reply at all.
Names of Democratic candidates that have received political contributions from FTX include Rep. Jesus Garcia, D-Ill., and Reps.-elect Morgan McGarvey of Kentucky, Maxwell Frost of Florida, Sydney Kamlager of California, Jonathan Jackson of Illinois, Nikki Budzinski of Illinois, Jared Moskowitz of Florida and Rob Menendez Jr. of New Jersey.
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, spoke about the need to uncover any wrongdoing by the company:
Chairwoman Waters and I are announcing a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the FTX debacle. Oversight is one of Congress’ most critical functions and we must get to the bottom of this for FTX’s customers and the American people. It’s essential that we hold bad actors accountable so responsible players can harness technology to build a more inclusive financial system.
He added, “I appreciate Chairwoman Waters’ working with Republicans to deliver accountability through a bipartisan process.”
Representative Patrick McHenry (R-NC), ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, speaks during a hearing in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
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