Democracy On The Blockchain (And Up For Auction)... Crypto Didn’t Just Crash— It Infiltrated

Web3 Worms In Blue Suits: NFTs, PACs & Hacks— A Guide To Your Lawmakers

More than a few Democrats took stolen crypto money for their 2022 and 2024 campaigns— a lot of it. In House races, it can be argued that Maxwell Frost (FL), Shomari Figures (AL), Shontel Brown (OH), Julie Johnson (TX), Jasmine Crockett (TX), Lucy McBath (GA), Val Hoyle (OR), Sydney Kamlager (CA), Jonathan Jackson (IL), Valerie Foushee (NC), Morgan McGarvey (KY), Rob Menendez (NJ), Nikki Budzinski (IL), Glenn Ivey (MD), Seth Magaziner (RI)— to name a few— were elected because of immense amounts of money from the crypto-cartel. Democratic Senate candidates who received big-time help from the crypto-cartel included Adam Schiff (CA) and Ruben Gallego (AZ).

For example, the cartel spent $10,000,000 smearing Katie Porter in the California primary, guaranteeing that Schiff would face an unelectable Republican in November rather than having a D vs D showdown. In return, Schiff helped kill the renomination of SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw— identified by the cartel as too tough on their criminal activities— and leaving the SEC with all Republicans and no Democrats. $10 million favor repaid!

I’ve been watching to see which of the Democrats bribed by the cartel would vote in their interests. A year ago, the House voted on crypto’s #1 priority— the make sure the easily bamboozled Commodity Futures Trading Commission would oversee the industry rather than the much tougher Security and Exchange Commission. This was the biggie that the crypto-cartel has bribed both parties with tens of millions of dollars. It passed 279-136, only 3 Republicans opposed. 71 Democrats voted in favor including many mentioned above, like Nikki Budzinski, Lucy McBath (GA), Adam Schiff (CA), Jasmine Crockett, Sydney Kamlager (CA), Ruben Gallego, Rob Menendez (NJ), as well as others who have been on the crypto dole like Josh Gottheimer (NJ), Ritchie Torres (NY), Pete Aguilar (CA), Jonathan Jackson (IL), Jake Auchincloss (MA), Darren Soto (FL).

Big recipients of crypto cash who voted against them included Morgan McGarvey, Valerie Foushee, Shontel Brown, Val Hoyle and Maxwell Frost.

Earlier in May, the cartel wanted to make sure that the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121), which imposed strict accounting rules for crypto custody by financial institutions, was overturned. Every Member who voted for it should be in prison, including all 217 Republicans and 21 Democrats. Among the bribed Democrats who voted with the GOP on this were Ritchie Torres, Josh Gottheimer, Ruben Gallego, Darren Soto and Jake Auchincloss. 

The Senate passed that bill, as well, 60-38 with a dozen Democrats voting with the GOP and their buddies in the crypto-cartel, led by the 2 criminals from New York, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Giillibrand. The other Democrats who voted for it included Mark Kelly (AZ), Kirsten Sinema (AZ), Jacky Rosen (NV), John Hickenlooper (CO), Cory Booker (but without the 25 hour speech on this one), Gary Peters (MI), Ben Ray Lujan (NM) and Ron Wyden (OR).

Now the cartel has another piece of legislation it wants passed— and some of their Democratic allies are balking (at least a little). Over the weekend, Jasper Goodman reported that “A group of pro-crypto Senate Democrats said Saturday they would oppose GOP-led stablecoin legislation that some of them previously supported if it goes to the floor in its current form, a stunning twist that could jeopardize the bill’s path forward. A group of nine Democrats who have previously backed industry-friendly crypto legislation wrote in a statement Saturday that ‘the bill as it currently stands still has numerous issues that must be addressed,’ adding they ‘would be unable to vote for cloture should the current version of the bill come to the floor.’ The statement was signed by four Democrats who voted in favor of the stablecoin bill when it cleared the Senate Banking Committee in March: Sens. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Mark Warner of Virginia, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Andy Kim of New Jersey. The surprise statement comes as the Senate is expected to begin considering the landmark stablecoin bill in the coming days, with the first procedural vote on the legislation expected as soon as next week. The bill, which needs support from at least seven Democrats to pass the Senate, would create the first-ever U.S. regulatory framework for issuers of stablecoins, which are digital tokens that are pegged to other assets like the dollar. Passage of the bill— led by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN)— would deliver a historic lobbying victory to the crypto industry, which has pushed for years for legislation that would help legitimize digital assets and boost the sector’s growth.

The lawmakers wrote Saturday that the legislation needs “stronger provisions on anti-money laundering, foreign issuers, national security, preserving the safety and soundness of our financial system, and accountability for those who don’t meet the act’s requirements.”

The statement was also signed by Sens. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Adam Schiff of California, along with Gallego, Warner, Blunt Rochester and Kim.

…The two Democrats who are co-sponsoring the stablecoin bill— Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland— notably did not sign onto the statement.

Some members of Congress have gotten a million dollars or more towards their campaigns from the crypto-cartel. Shouldn’t they be forced to recuse themselves? Ha! Like I said, I’ve been watching this grotesque alliance between corrupt politicians and the crypto-cartel metastasize in real time. And let’s not sugarcoat what this is: a hostile takeover of the Democratic Party by tech-bro billionaires and their sock-puppet “reformers,” laundering stolen money into congressional campaigns in broad daylight while the party hierarchy looks the other way— or worse, helps coordinate the shakedown. The penultimate DC bipartisanship; everyone's corrupt (except those who aren't). Never forget, these aren’t just donations; they’re bribes. They’re strategic investments by crypto-crooks in the legislative branch— buying up cheap seats in cheap districts with dirty money. And now we’ve got a House Democratic freshman class dotted with bought-and-paid-for shills who seem less interested in regulating an industry built on fraud than in giving it cover.

Let’s call this what it is: political money laundering. A scam on top of a scam. And every single one of these Members who took that money without returning it— or who allowed it to be spent on their behalf while staying silent— is compromised. Maxwell Frost wants to cosplay as a Gen Z activist, but how do you square “progressive values” with being financed by Sam Bankman-Fried’s shadowy crypto network? Shontel Brown’s loyalty to corporate power is no secret, but now she’s on the payroll of tech crooks, too. Jasmine Crockett tweets like a movement leader but… we’ll see. Jonathan Jackson inherited a name, not a moral compass. And Adam Schiff? The guy who built his brand on “defending democracy” just saw millions destroy a democratic primary— his own— and side with financial criminals against his own constituents. That’s not just hypocrisy; it’s betrayal.

These people aren’t public servants; they’re assets. And not American ones. The fact that this toxic sludge is flowing with barely a peep from party leadership tells you everything. The Democratic Establishment isn’t just tolerating this corruption— it’s courting it. These aren’t rogue actors; they’re being folded into the machine, right next to AIPAC. A machine that’s replacing community leaders with cash-flushed candidates who never met a billionaire they didn’t like.

If you’re wondering why so many voters think the Democratic Party’s moral authority has eroded— why so many young, disillusioned voters don’t see the party as a meaningful check on corporate power— look no further. This is how the rot sets in. Not with Trump-loving fascists at the gates, but with Democratic incumbents grinning through millions of dollars in attack ads paid for with embezzled crypto while regulators get purged behind the scenes. The crypto-cartel didn’t just buy elections. They bought silence. They bought complicity. And they bought the future votes that will determine whether they get prosecuted or pardoned.

So let’s stop pretending this is about “new voices” or “diversifying Congress.” This is about power— stolen power, bought power, and who gets to wield it. And the next time one of these Members gives you a speech about “justice” or “equity,” ask them how much of that speech was ghostwritten by a PAC lawyer laundering funds from the Bahamas. Because if you take stolen money and do the bidding of the thieves, what exactly does that make you?