Benzinga - The White House declined to answer questions pertaining to $5.2 million in campaign donations made by Sam Bankman-Fried to U.S. President Joe Biden and if the money will be returned to the disgraced founder of crypto exchange FTX (CRYPTO: FTT).
Attending a press briefing on Dec. 13, Associated Press (AP) reporter Zeke Miller asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre if the president would return the donations.
“Does he call on all politicians who got campaign donations that may have come from customer money to return those funds?” Miller queried.
Responding to him, Jean-Pierre said, “I'm covered here by the Hatch Act,” adding that she was “limited on what I can say.”
She further said, “Anything that's connected to political contributions, from here I would have to refer you to the DNC."
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Jean-Pierre was referring to the Democratic National Committee, which is in charge of overseeing the American Democratic Party.
What Is The Hatch Act?
A federal statute known as the Hatch Act forbids anyone working for the executive branch of government from getting involved in political campaigning.
Asked to comment on the president’s stand on the issue, the White House press secretary repeated she was covered by the Hatch Act.
“I just can't talk to political contributions or anything related to that I cannot speak about it from here,” she said.
Further pressed to speak on the issue, Jean-Pierre said, “even his opinion, even his thoughts about the contributions, donations — I cannot speak … about that from here.”
On Dec. 13, Bankman-Fried was charged with violating the Federal Election Commission's operations, making contributions in other people's names and violating the contribution laws.
With $5.2 million in donations, he was the second-largest "CEO-contributor" to Biden's 2020 presidential campaign, trailing behind media tycoon Michael Bloomberg, who donated $56 million.
The founder of FTX contributed significantly to the Democratic Party in the 2022 midterm elections, coming in second place overall with $36.8 million going to its candidates.
According to available records, Bankman-Fried donated more than $240,000 to Republicans during the midterm elections, but he acknowledged using so-called dark money in an interview with cryptocurrency vlogger Tiffany Fong on Nov. 16.
He claimed to have given roughly the same amount to both parties.
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