Former 'cryptocurrency' billionaire once intended to spend money to prevent Mr. Trump from running for re-election

In an excerpt from the book Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon published by The Washington Post , author Michael Lewis writes that Mr. Sam Bankman-Fried once intended to give $15-30 million to Republican Senator Mitch McConnell to defeat pro-Trump candidates in the Senate race.

Sam Bankman-Fried appeared in court in New York in August.

“On another front, he explained to me as the plane was landing in Washington that he was exploring the legality of paying Donald Trump not to run for president,” Mr. Lewis wrote.

"His team somehow created a secret channel into Mr. Trump's operations and came back with the shocking news that Mr. Donald Trump could actually bargain: $5 million," according to the excerpt.

The excerpt does not make clear why Mr. Bankman-Fried did not proceed with the plan. Speaking to CBS's 60 Minutes recently, Mr. Lewis said that the billionaire's intention - currently imprisoned - was to prevent Mr. Trump from running in 2024. However, Mr. Lewis said that Mr. Bankman-Fried would never know whether the number was actually given by Mr. Trump himself.

In response to the reports, the former president's spokesman, Steven Cheung, said: "Wasn't Sam Bankman-Fried a liar who was dismissed as a fraud and a man who could not be trusted?", according to Business Insider .

Mr. Bankman-Fried is the founder of the digital currency exchange FTX. A few years ago, he was the number one name in the digital currency world and at one point had a net worth of $26.5 billion, according to Forbes . However, that position quickly collapsed along with his business empire in 2022.

Before his arrest, Mr. Bankman-Fried was one of the biggest political donors. In the 2022 US midterm elections, he contributed $40 million to Democratic candidates, but he also admitted to being a Republican donor. In a podcast in May 2022, the FTX founder said he planned to donate more than $100 million in the 2024 presidential election, and the cap could rise to $1 billion if Mr. Trump runs again, according to NBC News.

Mr Lewis's book is scheduled to be released on October 3, coinciding with Mr Bankman-Fried's trial, which begins this week.

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of fraud and conspiracy related to the collapse of FTX in November 2022. He faces up to 110 years in prison, but the sentence is likely to be lower, Reuters reported.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/cuu-ti-phu-tien-ao-tung-co-y-chi-tien-de-ngan-ong-trump-tai-tranh-cu-185231002154537692.htm