Beto Clings to $100K from Sam Bankman-Fried After Pledge To Return Tainted Crypto Cash

WFB: Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke won praise last year after he pledged to return a massive campaign contribution from Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced cryptocurrency kingpin charged with defrauding customers out of billions of dollars. But campaign finance records show the failed political candidate has not lived up to that promise nearly eight months later.

O’Rourke has kept $100,000 that Bankman-Fried donated to O’Rourke’s failed gubernatorial campaign, according to campaign finance disclosures released this week. A spokesman for O’Rourke said in November that the campaign had returned an “unsolicited” $1 million donation from Bankman-Fried just before the Nov. 8 election. O’Rourke received positive media attention for announcing the refund, with one political scientist saying it “looks good” for O’Rourke to return Bankman-Fried’s donation.

The Washington Free Beacon reported in January that O’Rourke’s campaign refunded just $900,000 to Bankman-Fried and that it was placing the additional $100,000 into a fund for “victims of FTX’s collapse.” Campaign filings released this week do not show any refunds or payments related to the remaining $100,000. more