Sam Bankman-Fried jumped on a videoconference call for an interview with Tucker Carlson from a New York state prison, where the disgraced cryptocurrency mogul is serving a 25-year sentence and says he’s made some friends – including cellblock mate Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Carlson remarked at the top of the 45-minute interview that Bankman-Fried seemed more settled and “less jumpy” than he was during his days when he was running FTX, the crypto platform whose collapse led to fraud and conspiracy charges against its founder.
The former Fox News host and podcaster asked Bankman-Fried how things are going so far in his roughly two years behind bars in Brooklyn, where the 33-year old is set to stay until sometime after his 57th birthday.
“I mean, it’s sort of dystopian, you know,” Bankman-Fried said. “I’m not in physical danger. And, you know, frankly, a lot of the staff, they’re trying to be helpful. … But no one wants to be in prison. And you can imagine what happens when you take 40 people, all of them charged with crimes, and lock them in a single room for years on end and throw out the key – which is the the most trivial things become all that people have left to care about.”
Carlson asked Bankman-Fried how he spends his time.
“Well, it’s a really good question because there’s not a whole lot to do in prison. I’ve read books. I’ve started reading novels again. I play some chess and I work on my legal case to the extent I can,” Bankman-Fried said, referencing his ongoing appeal. “But the lack of other meaningful things to spend my time on is one of the most soul-crushing things about prison.”
Combs is in the same facility, awaiting trial on a flurry of federal charges including racketeering and sex trafficking. Carlson asked Bankman-Fried what their interactions have been like, as they often interact in common areas.
“I don’t know, you know, he’s been kind,” Bankman-Fried said. “I’ve made some friends. It’s it’s a weird environment, you know? It’s sort of a combination of a few other high-profile cases and a lot of ex-gangsters … I’ve only seen one one piece of [Diddy], which is you know Diddy in prison. And you know, he’s been kind to people in the unit. He’s been kind to me.”
Carlson expressed surprise that Bankman-Fried, formerly the top donor to the Democratic party, wasn’t protected from prison time by his connections; the inmate speculated that a political shift might have something to do with it.
“You gave so much to Democratsthat I kind of thought they would rescue you in the end,” Carlson said. “Where where were all your friends, the Democratic Party? They usually keep their friends from going to jail. Tony Podesta never went to jail. Why did you?”
“Oh, it’s a really good question,” Bankman-Fried replied. “Obviously, I can only guess what the answer to that. I can only speculate because I’m not in their minds. But, you know, one fact that might be relevant is, you know, in May 2020, I was center-left and I gave to Biden’s campaign. … I spent the next few years in DC a lot. I made dozens of trips there and was really, really shocked by what I saw. Not a good direction from the administration.By late 2022, I was giving to Republicans privately as much as Democrats, and that started becoming known right around after this collapse. So it probably played a role.”
Watch the entire interview in the video above.
