Maxine Waters Praises FTX Founder Bankman-Fried for ‘Frank’ Interviews After Losing Billions

Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California He praised the “frank” interviews that financier Sam Bankman-Fried gave to the press prior to his hearing before a House committee.

Waters made the comment via social media on Friday. Bankman Fried He is scheduled to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on December 13.

“We appreciate that you have been candid in your discussions about what happened at FTX,” Waters said.

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She added, “Your willingness to speak with the public will help the company’s clients, investors and others. To that end, we welcome your participation in the hearing on the 13th.”

Bankman-Fried has appeared in a number of interviews in the past week, discussing the collapse of his cryptocurrency trading company, FTX.

In his series of media posts, which included a live discussion with The New York Times, Bankman-Fried aims to deflect blame from FTX management and has denied doing so. fraud.

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Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., chair 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 She donated nearly $38 million to various candidates and political action committees, mainly giving his money to Democratic candidates and left-wing groups, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings.

The majority of his political donations have gone to Protect Our Future PAC, a group founded in January dedicated to strengthening candidates committed to preventing future pandemics.

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Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and former CEO of FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange, speaks during an interview on an episode of Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein in New York, Wednesday, August 17, 2022. (Jenna Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)

Bankman-Fried is currently facing A.J A flurry of lawsuitsincluding a class action lawsuit 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 caused consumers to suffer more than $11 billion in damages.

The lawsuit, which refers to “Sam Bankman Fried, Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors, Shaquille O’Neal, Odonis Haslem, David Ortiz, William Trevor Lawrence, Shuhei Ohtani, Naomi Osaka, Lawrence Gene David, and Kevin O’Leary Seeking to make them “liable for the billions of dollars in damages they have caused to the plaintiff and the classes and to compel the defendants to make them whole.”

FOX Business’ Thomas Catenacci, Houston Kane, Greg Norman, and Kristin Altus contributed to this report.