As Republicans continue to call for a congressional investigation of disgraced FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Seth Meyers can’t help but wonder what good they think it will do. According to the “Late Night” host, it is seriously doubtful that congress would even know what to do.
On Nov. 11, Bankman-Fried stepped down from FTX and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after revelations about Alameda’s stores of FTT, the cryptocurrency issued by FTX, came to light. FTX had caught the attention — and investments — of several prominent figures, including former president Bill Clinton. Now, Bankman-Fried has lost nearly all of his net worth, and faces potential jail time.
But Bankman-Fried was arrested before actually testifying in court, and Republican politicians are angry. As a result, they are spinning theories that President Biden’s justice department actively sought to block any questioning of Bankman-Fried because he was a donor to Democrats.
“First of all, I doubt Joe Biden had any involvement in this case. And the way I know that is, he’s 80 years old,” Meyers mocked. “He probably has no idea what crypto is or how it works.”
That said, Meyers doubts that congress would even be able to successfully interrogate Bankman-Fried, largely because of their ages, and questioned why the GOP even wants to try.
“The idea that Biden somehow stopped congress from getting to the bottom of what happened with FTX is absurd,” Meyers said. “You really think congress is gonna ask penetrating questions about cryptocurrency? You guys think 89-year-old Chuck Grassley is really gonna crack the case on crypto? I’m sure he probably still prefers to pay for everything with beaver pelts.”
Of course, the late night host added that he doubts Republicans themselves would even be able to grill Bankman-Fried, given past precedent. Calling up old footage of Congress questioning Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg earlier this year, Meyers reminded viewers that some GOP congressmen needed to have basic elements of technology explained to them.
“I have my doubts that Republicans in congress will get to the bottom of it, these guys can barely figure out how to play Candy Crush on a 7-year-old’s iPhone,” Meyers joked.
You can watch the full “A Closer Look” segment in the video above.