Sam Bankman-Fried Bashes Biden, Gensler on Tucker Carlson’s Podcast

Samuel Bankman-Fried appeared on former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s podcast, bashing former President Joe Biden and Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler as his parents seek a pardon from Donald Trump.

Bankman-Fried, who is serving a 25-year sentence over his role in the collapse of his FTX cryptocurrency exchange, said that he was “shocked” by the first two years of Biden’s administration and said that crypto regulation under Gensler was “something of a nightmare.” In contrast, he said on the podcast, released Thursday, that he was hopeful about what he had heard from Trump.

“Obviously, the follow through is what matters and that’s where we’re at now,” said Bankman-Fried, who turned 33 this week. “Changing the guard helps, but financial regulators, they’re big giant bureaucracies in the federal government. They’re not used to changing overnight.”

The interview is the second that the onetime crypto billionaire has given from a federal detention center in Brooklyn, New York, to a conservative outlet since Bloomberg reported in January that his parents are exploring ways to secure a pardon from Trump. The conversation with Carlson, clocking in at just over 40 minutes, ranged from his relationship with fellow inmate Sean “Diddy” Combs — he’s “kind” to him and other prisoners — to what he uses to barter for goods while in custody — prewrapped muffins. 

Bankman-Fried’s spokesman, Mark Botnick, said he resigned on Thursday after learning of the interview on X. The Bureau of Prisons didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the interview.

But Carlson frequently asked about Democratic politicians who he gave millions of dollars in political donations. Bankman-Fried said that he refrained from calling them as FTX imploded in late 2022 because he didn’t want to do anything “inappropriate.” He also said he had started donating to Republicans as he was “really, really shocked at what I saw” from the Biden administration. 

“By late 2022 I was giving to Republicans privately as much as Democrats,” he said. “That started becoming known right around FTX’s collapse. So that probably played a role.”

Bankman-Fried described his time in prison as “sort of dystopian,” but said that he spends his time reading novels and playing chess. He said some of the most violent criminals in the prison have become very good at the game despite a lack of education and how he loses to them “all the time.”

“I was not expecting that,” he said.

He said he’s had a lot of time “to reflect on how to communicate,” and that he wasn’t effective at it when the crisis hit, noting he often gets “swept up in details” and forgets how to project “the bigger picture.”

But while Bankman-Fried said the collapse of FTX has been a “colossal disaster” and that not stopping it is “by far the biggest regret of my life,” he said he doesn’t think he is a criminal.

“Clearly, I think the DOJ thinks I may have been,” he said.

With assistance from Ava Benny-Morrison.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.