(HorizonPost.com) – According to a new book about disgraced crypto investor Sam Bankman-Fried, the former FTX founder considered paying then-President Donald Trump to keep him from running for re-election in 2020, Reuters reported.
According to an excerpt from author Michael Lewis’ new book “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon” which was published on Sunday in the Washington Post, before the 2020 election, Bankman-Fried also planned to donate between $15 and $30 million to then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s PAC to defeat “Trumpier” GOP candidates in the 2020 Senate races.
Additionally, Lewis writes that Bankman-Fried told him that he was also exploring whether he could legally pay Donald Trump to not run for re-election in the 2020 race.
According to Lewis’ account, Bankman-Fried’s team “created a back channel” to the Trump campaign to present the officer and was informed that if the crypto billionaire wanted Donald Trump to bow out of the 2020 race, the price would be a staggering $5 billion.
What is unclear from the excerpt published is why Bankman-Fried chose not to move ahead with his plan to buy Trump’s lack of participation.
A spokesman for the disgraced FTX founder refused to comment on the claims in Lewis’ book and the Trump campaign did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Michael Lewis’ book went on sale this week to coincide with the start of Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial which began on Monday in New York.
The FTX founder is charged with seven counts of conspiracy and fraud stemming from the collapse of FTX in November last year.
If convicted, Bankman-Fried faces up to 110 years in prison.
Copyright 2023, HorizonPost.com
