Sam Bankman-Fried, who is currently serving a 25-year sentence for the FTX scam, shared his disapproval of the previous Joe Biden administration and expressed sympathy toward President Donald Trump, according to an interview from his prison released Thursday.
What Happened: Bankman-Fried voiced his belief that his case was influenced by the same “prosecutorial abuse” and “politicization of the DOJ” that Trump has often criticized, in an interview he gave from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York to The New York Sun.
The fallen crypto mogul suggested that he shares common adversaries with Trump, such as Judge Lewis Kaplan, who presided over the FTX fraud case and Trump's federal defamation trial brought by writer E. Jean Carroll. “I know President Trump had a lot of frustrations with Judge Kaplan. I certainly did as well."
The fallen mogul labeled the Biden administration’s policies on cryptocurrency “incredibly destructive,” arguing that the Republican party had been more reasonable in their approach to regulating the sector.
See Also: Bitcoin ‘Early In Bull Market,’ Can Compete With Gold ETFs, Blockstream CEO Says
Interestingly, Bankman-Fried, who was the second-largest donor to Biden’s 2020 election campaign, stated that his support for Biden was driven by a desire to prevent the Democratic Party from becoming the party of Bernie Sanders. He said that he leaned toward center-left, but added "that's not how I view myself anymore."
Why It Matters: Bankman-Fried’s remarks follow reports that his parents have been discussing with legal experts and individuals within Trump’s network regarding possible clemency for their son.
Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the creator of Bitcoin BTC/USD-aided illegal drug marketplace Silk Road, last month, fulfilling his campaign promise.
Bankman-Fried was convicted of misappropriating funds from his FTX cryptocurrency exchange customers, using the money for personal expenses, political contributions, and venture capital investments. Prosecutors alleged that he swindled a staggering $8 billion worth of customer's cryptocurrency funds.
The exchange's collapse precipitated the cryptocurrency winter, causing Bitcoin and the broader market to hit new depths.
Photo by lev radin on Shutterstock
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