Ryan Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, said that the United States government unfairly targeted him because of his support for the Republican Party.

On Oct. 10, Tucker Carlson released an interview featuring Salame a day after the former FTX executive requested a judge to delay his self-surrender date by roughly two months on medical grounds.

Speaking to Carlson, Salame alleged he was wrongly charged with “campaign finance violations” for donating to the Republican Party. He highlighted how his convicted colleagues like FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who “helped get Biden elected,” were never charged with the same violation. He shared his perspective:

“Correct me if I’m wrong here. You have Sam Bankman-Fried, who’s in prison for a long time, but he’s not been charged with any campaign finance violations. He gave it to Democrats.”

Salame highlighted that he was never charged with crimes related to the fall of crypto exchange FTX. However, the campaign finance violations are because he borrowed money from Alameda for political contributions. In total, Salame claimed he donated 20 to 30 million to Republican candidates.

Donated funds acquired illegally

At the time, lawyers advised Salame that the borrowed money Salame donated was legal. However, he was accused of orchestrating a straw donor scheme by illegally using another person’s money to make a political contribution in their own name. 

Former FTX executive Ryan Salame speaks about unfair prosecution. Source: Tucker Carlson

Salame also questioned the validity of the second charge against him, particularly the one related to not having a money-transmitting license .

On the other hand, Salame said SBF donated roughly $60 to $70 million in total to the Democrats in the 2020 cycle. 

Salame also alleged that he was pressured into pleading guilty by the threat of federal prosecutors going after his child’s mother:

“They told me that if I pled guilty to these two crimes, they would not pursue my loved ones and look at anything that they had done or investigating them.”

Using family members as leverage

Salame pleaded guilty to the charges on the condition that the authorities would not involve his family in the investigations. However, the authorities broke the deal, he said:

“Because the government has now continued to pursue the mother of my child, despite saying that they wouldn’t if I pled guilty. So I’m going to use that in an attempt an appeal.” 

In contrast, Salame also highlighted that none of SBF’s family members faced any legal consequences despite being heavily involved with the convicted entrepreneur. 

Salame spent roughly $6 million on lawyers but remains critical of the American justice system, which he believes prioritizes convictions over truth.

Related: No, FTX distribution payments do not begin on Sept. 30

On Oct. 9, former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison agreed to settle the case with FTX by turning over “substantially all of her assets.”

In a motion filed on Oct. 7, Ellison agreed to transfer any assets not forfeited to the government in her criminal case or used for legal fees to FTX creditors.

The motion noted that once she meets the terms, “Ellison will have no remaining assets other than certain physical personal property,” without specifying the value of the assets she would forfeit.

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