Pro XRP lawyer asks the crypto industry to pull money out of politics – The SBF and Soros case point

In a recent post on X, pro-XRP lawyer John E. Deaton voiced his concerns over the pervasive influence of substantial monetary contributions in American politics. His focus has been on the particular role of crypto donations.

The crypto advocate’s post was a direct response to Elon Musk’s tweet, where the former called the awarding of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to George Soros a “travesty.”

According to an X post from Bachata CEO Mario Nawfal, a nonprofit backed by billionaire George Soros injected millions into various organizations. His money funded several initiatives in the United States. 

And Soros was just given the Presidential Medal of Freedom … https://t.co/vhK7EMZkAj

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2025

Nawfal believes Soros is being hailed for his contributions, while Musk is getting the bitter end of “compliments” from economists.

Crypto lawyer warns crypto enthusiast on involvement with politics

Deaton began his post by stressing the need to remove ‘big money’ from politics. He pointed out the case of Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the beleaguered exchange FTX. Referring to the sentenced head of FTX as “the Bernie Madoff of Crypto,” the attorney explained how SBF donated $70 million during the 2022 midterms.

Bankman-Fried predominantly supported Democratic candidates, which positioned him as one of the largest donors behind George Soros. This contribution was revealed during FTX’s fraud trial. Here, it was revealed he donated $10 million to Biden’s Administration to “gain regulatory access.”

Per the pro-XRP lawyer, SBF succeeded in his ploy to meet with regulators like SEC Chair Gary Gensler and members of the CFTC multiple times. He then provided other examples of SBF’s acquired influence, which saw his dad, Joe Bankman, write Elizabeth Warren’s tax policy. 

“SBF’s mom, Barbara Fried, runs Mind The Gap, a SuperPac for liberal democrats. Despite receiving $10M in stolen customer funds and having tens of millions of dollars worth of Bahamian luxury real estate in their names, paid for by stolen customer funds, they have not been charged or indicted.” Deaton questioned.

The crypto attorney also reiterates that political campaigns have become vehicles for moving and paying money, potentially corrupting the democratic process. 

He cited the example of Vice President Kamala Harris and the Future Forward SuperPac, which together spent an astonishing $2.5 billion in just 15 weeks. From the lump sum, the outgoing US vice president reportedly raised $1.5 billion alone. 

Democrats calling for financial expenditure oversight

Some members of the democratic party are calling for audits to trace the expenditure of Biden’s administration. Senior lawmakers, including Bernie Sanders and John Fetterman, are backing parts of Elon Musk’s proposed spending cuts plan.

Musk’s proposal aims to reduce $2 trillion in annual federal spending, targeting waste and inefficiency in government programs.

Representative Ro Khanna supported Musk’s call to curb Pentagon spending, citing longstanding issues with wasteful defense contracts.

“Defense contractors have exploited taxpayers for too long,” Khanna, representing parts of Silicon Valley, told the Financial Times.

His remarks followed Sanders’ statement endorsing Musk’s focus on defense spending as a necessary reform. “The Pentagon, with an $886 billion budget, failed its seventh consecutive audit, losing track of billions,” Sanders said.

Interestingly, this outcry for transparency contrasts with the party’s support for increasing IRS agents to scrutinize ordinary Americans, which attorney Deaton said he finds quite ironic.