Maxine Waters praises FTX founder Bankman-Fried for 'candid' interviews after billions go missing
Sam Bankman-Fried has defended himself as a well-meaning entrepreneur who got in over his head, claiming FTX's collapse had nothing to do with fraud
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Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California praised disgraced financier Sam Bankman-Fried's "candid" interviews with the press ahead of his hearing before a House committee.
Waters made the comment via social media on Friday. Bankman-Fried is scheduled to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Dec. 13.
"We appreciate that you've been candid in your discussions about what happened at FTX," Waters said.
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She added, "Your willingness to talk to the public will help the company's customers, investors, and others. To that end, we would welcome your participation in our hearing on the 13th."
Bankman-Fried has made appearances for a number of interviews in the past week, discussing the collapse of his crypto-trading firm, FTX.
In his series of media engagements, which included a live discussion with the New York Times, Bankman-Fried has aimed to deflect blame away from FTX management and has denied committing fraud.
Representative Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California and chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, during a hearing in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Overall, in 2021 and 2022, Bankman-Fried donated nearly $38 million to various candidates and PACs, mainly giving his cash to Democratic candidates and left-wing groups, according to Federal Election Commission filings (FEC).
The majority of his political givings went to the Protect Our Future PAC, a group founded in January that is dedicated to boosting candidates who are committed to preventing future pandemics.
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Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and former chief executive officer of FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange, speaks during an interview on an episode of Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein in New York, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Bankman-Fried is currently facing a flurry of lawsuits, including a class action by investors alleging that he and other high-profile celebrities — such as legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady and NBA star Stephen Curry — violated Florida law and made consumers suffer more than $11 billion in damages.
The lawsuit, which names "Sam Bankman-Fried, Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen, Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors, Shaquille O’Neal, Udonis Haslem, David Ortiz, William Trevor Lawrence, Shohei Ohtani, Naomi Osaka, Lawrence Gene David, and Kevin O’Leary," seeks to make them "responsible for the many billions of dollars in damages they caused Plaintiff and the Classes and to force Defendants to make them whole."
FOX Business' Thomas Catenacci, Houston Keene, Greg Norman, and Kristen Altus contributed to this report.