Takeaways from Carlson’s prison interview with Bankman-Fried – Washington Examiner
Tucker Carlson recently conducted a prison interview with Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, who is serving a 25-year sentence for fraud. The conversation covered various topics, including Bankman-Fried’s experiences in prison, his relationships with fellow inmates, and his reflections on the political landscape following his contributions too the Democratic Party.
Bankman-Fried described prison life as “dystopian,” noting the monotony and limited activities available, with reading and chess being his primary pastimes. He mentioned that he has made friends, including music mogul Sean Combs, who is also incarcerated in the same facility.
During the interview, Bankman-Fried expressed regret over his political donations, suggesting that his shift to supporting Republicans may have influenced his prosecution. He also shared his hope for a positive direction for cryptocurrency under a future Trump administration and anticipated that he might serve less than his full sentence due to potential reductions.
He concluded by stating that he could be released in his late 40s, though he fears the psychological and physical toll of imprisonment, noting research indicating that individuals age faster while incarcerated.
Five takeaways from Tucker Carlson’s prison interview with Sam Bankman-Fried
Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson spoke with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried from prison as he serves his extended sentence for fraud and other crimes, touching on a variety of topics from the Democratic Party to how he feels about spending decades locked up.
A jury convicted Bankman-Fried in 2023, with the court sentencing the then-32-year-old to 25 years in prison. He appealed his sentence in April 2024.
Bankman-Fried has not spoken much with the media since being imprisoned, and Carlson’s nearly 45-minute chat with the FTX founder divulged many details about him and others.
Here’s some of what Bankman-Fried revealed during the interview.
What it’s like in prison
Bankman-Fried described prison as “dystopian” and said he feels like time is “amorphous” there, given that the days blend together in similarity. He added that he is no danger and has had no “acute” problems, just logistical issues such as having limited access to legal work due to the busy schedule surrounding his trial.
He said there’s not much to do in prison, but he reads books, plays chess, and works on his legal case as much as possible. “The lack of other meaningful things to spend my time on is one of the most soul-crushing things about prison.”
Ultimately, he said of imprisoned people, “the most trivial things become all people have left to care about.”
Meeting Diddy
Music mogul Sean Combs is imprisoned in the same facility as Bankman-Fried, the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, and resides in the same cell block as him.
“He’s been kind,” Bankman-Fried said of Diddy. “I’ve made some friends. It’s a weird environment; it’s sort of a combination of a few other high-profile cases and a lot of gangsters or alleged ex-gangsters.”
Carlson asked Bankman-Fried what Diddy was like, but the crypto enthusiast didn’t give specific details.
“I’ve only seen one piece of him, which is Diddy in prison,” he said. “And he’s been kind to people in the unit. He’s been kind to me. It’s also a position no one wants to be in. Obviously, he doesn’t, I don’t [either] … as you said, it’s kind of soul-crushing.”
Combs is awaiting a May trial.
Suggests donations to the GOP turned Democrats against him
Carlson asked Bankman-Fried if he was surprised that Democrats didn’t bail him out of the situation despite his donations to the party, but he dodged the question. “Well, it’s a really good question. Obviously … I can only speculate because I’m not in their minds,” he said.
DEMOCRATS DEFEND THEIR TRUMP ADDRESS OUTBURSTS AS GOP WEIGHS PENALTIES
He suggested he regretted donating to Biden’s 2020 campaign despite viewing himself and Biden as center-left. “I spent the next two years in D.C. a lot. I made dozens of trips there and was really, really shocked by what I saw, not in a good direction from the administration,” he said.
That drove him to donate to Republicans in late 2022, and he said that may have played a role in his prosecution. “That started becoming known right around FTX’s collapse so that probably played a role.”
Bankman-Fried was surprised Democrats took the lead on financial regulation, “but there were good and bad people in each party and a lot of thoughtful players.”
Future of crypto
The once-cryptocurrency “king” said he hopes the Trump administration moves crypto in the right direction.
“You look at what the Trump administration said going into office; there are a lot of good things,” he told Carlson. “There are a lot of things that you know were very different from the stance that the Biden administration took.”
“The follow-through is what matters, and that’s the stage that we’re at now, which is what will come of this,” he added.
He concluded that financial regulators will be slow to change and have played “a really obstructive role” for crypto.
When might he get out?
Bankman-Fried said he is scheduled to get out when he is 57. He added, “If you include all the possible decreases [to my sentence], it might be late 40s.”
TRACKING WHAT DOGE IS DOING ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
He’s doubtful that he’ll be able to serve all of his sentence, though it is unclear what he meant. He said there are studies that say you age three times the normal rate in prison.
“The hardest thing is just not having something meaningful to be doing in here,” he said. “There are studies, no idea how good they are, but they show … you age at roughly three times the normal rate in prison. So you know, you have three times 25 to my 32 years when I was convicted. That gets you an answer, maybe.”
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
Now loading...