According to an excerpt from a book, Sam Bankman-Fried considered the idea of offering money to Donald Trump in exchange for him not running for president.

A recently published excerpt from an upcoming book reveals that Sam Bankman-Fried, a former billionaire who is currently in jail, contemplated offering money to former US President Donald Trump to prevent him from seeking re-election in 2020.

According to the passage in the Washington Post, Michael Lewis, the writer of Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon, stated that Mr. Bankman-Fried was intending to donate $15 million to $30 million to Republican Senator Mitch McConnell in order to defeat more extreme candidates in the Senate races.

During the descent into Washington, the writer, Mr. Lewis, was informed that the person he was speaking to was considering the possibility of legally compensating Donald Trump in exchange for him not running for president.

“Sam was informed by his team that they had managed to establish a secret communication channel with the Trump campaign, and had discovered that Donald Trump’s asking price was $5 billion. This was not a surprising revelation.”

The excerpt did not mention the reason for Bankman-Fried, the creator of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, not following through with the proposed plans.

Mr. Bankman-Fried’s spokesperson, Mark Botnick, chose not to provide a statement regarding the excerpt, and there was no immediate response from Mr. Trump’s representatives to a comment request from Reuters.

Mr. Bankman-Fried has denied any wrongdoing in relation to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange in November 2022, for which he is facing seven charges of fraud and conspiracy.

He could possibly serve up to 110 years in prison according to the law, but the judge in charge of the case will consider various factors and may give him a much shorter sentence.

Mr. Lewis’ book release coincides with the start of Mr. Bankman-Fried’s

Trial for fraudulent activity taking place this week.