Maxine Waters Is Not Playing With SBF. Says It Is Imperative That He Attends Their Hearing

Following the controversial interview between Sam Bankman-Fried and journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin at the New York Times DealBook Summit, SBF received a cordial invitation on December 13 from Congresswoman Waters to understand what happened during the FTX collapse.

However, SBF declined Waters’s invitation, saying he didn’t feel it was the right time to appear before the committee to explain all the events that took FTX, the 2nd largest crypto exchange in the U.S., into bankruptcy.

Rep. Waters, and the House Committee on Financial Services:

Once I have finished learning and reviewing what happened, I would feel like it was my duty to appear before the committee and explain.

I’m not sure that will happen by the 13th. But when it does, I will testify. https://t.co/c0P8yKlyQt

— SBF (@SBF_FTX) December 4, 2022

As per the exchange of tweets between Waters and SBF, the former FTX CEO maintains that he was confident that “FTX US was solvent.” SBF said that all U.S. customers could be made whole, adding that he was sure FTX US was still solvent.

Expanding on DealBook:

When I filed, I’m fairly sure FTX US was solvent, and that all US customers could be made whole.

To my knowledge, it still is today.

I was expecting that to happen. I’m surprised it hasn’t. I’m not sure why US withdrawals were turned off.

— SBF (@SBF_FTX) December 1, 2022

The Second Time Was Not So Nice

On December 5, Waters went from thanking SBF to requesting his attendance at the hearing on the 13th to explain the bankruptcy of a platform that harmed more than a million people.

As you know, the collapse of FTX has harmed over one million people. Your testimony would not only be meaningful to Members of Congress, but is also critical to the American people. (2/3)

— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) December 5, 2022

Waters doesn’t seem to be buying SBF’s story. She told SBF that his role as CEO, combined with the interviews he has given in person and via phone calls, despite multiple warnings from his lawyers, suggests that the information he possesses is sufficient to be used as testimony. She was crystal clear on her last tweet

It is imperative that you attend our hearing on the 13th, and we are willing to schedule continued hearings if there is more information to be shared later. (3/3)

— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) December 5, 2022

So SBF will have to face the regulators to explain with evidence how he drove a company that had achieved a valuation of more than $32 billion into bankruptcy in one week.

The billionaire made a personal fortune of over $24 billion, one of the largest among cryptocurrency investors. However, there are still some unanswered questions regarding SBF’s personal wealth and his awareness of how his clients’ money was handled.

Crypto Enthusiasts Label SBF As ‘Cynical’ and ‘Sociopathic’

Some media outlets, such as Fortune, labeled SBF as “delusional and sociopathic,” saying his interview was full of lies and whining as a way to convey a personality created for the media with the intention of conveying pity rather than guilt.

“[The interview was] a 45-minute display of delusion and sociopathy in which the disgraced FTX founder whined, wheedled, and did everything but acknowledge his responsibility for the financial crime of the year,”

Elon Musk was one of the billionaires who tweeted that SBF should have “an adult timeout in the big house & move on.” Similarly, Mike Novogratz said in an interview for CNBC that SBF should face jail time for his part in the company’s collapse since, in his last interview, “he was raving about what happened and his guilt.”