Democrats won’t use Sam Bankman-Fried’s campaign donations

By the numbers: Bankman-Fried spent about $37 million on mostly Democratic candidates and causes during the 2022 midterms, Axios reports. All in all, he was the party's second-biggest donor, behind George Soros, per data from OpenSecrets.

• The DNC received $815,000 in contributions from the disgraced crypto leader since 2020, the Washington Post reports.
• The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) received $103,000 and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) was given $250,000.

Driving the news: Democrats said they would avoid using the contributions after Bankman-Fried's company, FTX, collapsed and potentially erased holdings for thousands of people.

• Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas last week and charged with eight counts of fraud, conspiracy, campaign finance law violations, and money laundering after he was accused by the SEC of defrauding FTX investors.

What they're saying: DNC spokesman Daniel Wessel said in a statement to AP on Friday that the group would put its donations aside for now until it receives legal guidance on what to do next.

• Both the DSCC and DCCC, which run campaigns for Senate and House Democrats, said they'd do the same, AP reports.
• “House Democrats are committed to preserving the integrity of our democracy and fairness in our campaign finance system,” said the DCCC spokesman, Chris Taylor, in a statement to the Washington Post.
• Lawmakers have suggested donating the funds to charity.

The DNC, DSCC and DCCC did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Go deeper: The week the crypto dream died