OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 11:39 AM PT – Wednesday, December 14, 2022
The Biden administration has refused to address calls to return political donations that Democrats received from FTX founder Sam Bankman-Freed.
During Tuesday’s press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was directly asked if Biden will instruct aides and Democrat officials to return Bankman-Freed’s donations. She avoided answering the question and cited the Hatch Act saying that she could not comment on the matter.
Jean-Pierre continued to try to evade the question.
“Limited on what I can say and anything that is connected to political contributions – from here I would have to refer you to the DNC,” she said.
The Hatch Act was adopted in 1939 to prohibit civil servants from being able to engage in political activity.
Bankman-Freed donated $40 million to Democrats this past election season. This made him the second largest Democrat donor after George Soros.
The reporters at the briefing believe that the Biden administration should comment on the SBF donations, since it helped Democrats in this year’s midterm elections. Even Bankman-Freed admitted that his contributions may have had influence over lawmakers.
“Frankly, everyone should always be skeptical of things like this,” Bankman-Freed said in reference to political donations.
Republicans have raised questions about the $1.8 billion missing from FTX, as well as questions about the company’s and the former billionaire’s involvement with the Ukrainian government.