House Majority Whip Tom Emmer — the latest Republican nominated to replace Kevin McCarthy as House speaker — is facing scrutiny over his ties to doomed crypto firm FTX, The Post has learned.
The Minnesota congressman was part of the so-called “Blockchain Eight” who signed a letter seeking to quash the Securities and Exchange Commission’s attempt to obtain more information about FTX in March 2022 — months before the devastating explosion of Sam Bankman-Fried’s firm.
Emmer — the House’s third-most powerful member — received $11,600 in direct donations from FTX, putting the failed crypto exchange in its top 15 donors during the 2022 election cycle, according to FEC filings.
At a House Financial Services Committee meeting in 2021, Emmer praised Bankman-Fried’s alleged FTX fraudsters and said it “sounds like you’re doing a lot to make sure there’s no fraud or other manipulation.”
His support of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange has spooked some Republicans, sources told The Post.
At the same time, Democrats are already discussing filing an ethics complaint about Emmer’s crypto ties if he gets enough votes to become speaker, people familiar with the situation said.
“Emmer has been the biggest defender of crypto in Congress in exchange for millions in donations, and it’s not even clear about his motivations for taking the money,” said one Democratic strategist.
Relations Rep. Emmer can block potential deals for speakers. Ryan Salame and Michelle Bond, above.
“Emmer’s cozy relationship with FTX and the crypto industry is certainly suspicious,” the source added. “He shut down the investigation into FTX while personally taking hundreds of thousands from the crypto industry,” the source added.
The House reshuffle — after McCarthy’s ouster and Jim Jordan’s three failed bids — comes amid the Bankman-Fried fraud trial, which continues in New York this week.
One difficult connection is that Emmer is a “mentor” to the lover of a convicted FTX executive, sources said.
As chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Emmer recruited Michelle Bond to run for a House seat on Long Island in 2022.
The longtime crypto lobbyist is on the FTX payroll and is dating executive Ryan Salame, who has pleaded not guilty and is expected to testify against her former boss.
Bond’s bid in the Republican primary failed, but Emmer and Bond became close enough that he told friends he was his mentor, sources said.
The congressman’s FTX problem could prevent him from the House leadership.AP
Emmer’s office did not comment on his relationship with Bond or FTX when contacted by The Post.
His run for office is being investigated by Manhattan federal prosecutors for potentially violating campaign finance laws.
While individuals can self-fund their own campaigns, candidates can only take a maximum of $2,900 from donors in the primary. Investigators are looking into whether she took more than that amount from her boyfriend.
Bond did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bond was previously chief executive at the crypto trade group, the Association for Digital Asset Markets. He was also paid $200,000 by FTX as a consultant.
Emmer has also angered colleagues by lobbying to be the speaker for the past few weeks — even when Jordan was the frontrunner, insiders said.
“He annoyed the people who were trying to lobby for the job … he was ahead of his skis,” the source said.
House Republicans chose Emmer as their latest speaker appointee after five rounds of closed-door voting — exactly three weeks after the ouster of McCarthy (R-Calif.), and following the doomed speaker bids of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R)-La.) and Chairman House Judiciary Committee Jordan (R-Ohio).
Both Scalise and Jordan dropped out of the race for speaker earlier this month after failing to garner enough Republican support to replace McCarthy.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
