House Majority Whip Tom Emmer — the latest Republican nominated to replace Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House — is facing scrutiny over his links to doomed crypto firm FTX, The Post has learned.
The Minnesota congressman was part of the so-called “Blockchain Eight” who signed a letter that tried to quash the Securities and Exchange Commission’s attempts to gain more information on FTX in March 2022 — months before the disastrous implosion of Sam Bankman-Fried’s firm.
Emmer — the third-most powerful member of the House — received $11,600 in direct donations from FTX, putting the failed crypto exchange in his top 15 donors during the 2022 election cycle, according to FEC filings.
At a House Financial Services Committee meeting in 2021, Emmer praised alleged FTX fraudster Bankman-Fried and said it “sounds like you’re doing a lot to make sure there is no fraud or other manipulation.”
His support of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange is spooking some Republicans, sources told The Post.
At the same time, Democratic members are already discussing filing ethics complaints over Emmer’s crypto ties if he gets enough votes to become speaker, people with knowledge of the situation said.
“Emmer has been crypto’s biggest defender in Congress in exchange for millions in donations, and hasn’t even been subtle about his motivations for taking the money,” one Democratic strategist said.
“Emmer’s cozy relationship with FTX and the crypto industry is definitely fishy,” the source added. “He shut down an investigation into FTX while personally taking hundreds of thousands from the crypto industry.”
That apparently won’t be necessary. Emmer dropped out late Tuesday after it became clear that he did not have enough support to outright win a House-wide vote.
The House reshuffle — after McCarthy’s ouster and Jim Jordan’s three failed bids to garner enough votes — is happening in the middle of Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial, which continued in New York this week.
One thorny connection Emmer had was as a “mentor” to the paramour of a since-convicted FTX executive, sources said.
As National Republican Congressional Committee chair, Emmer recruited Michelle Bond to run for a House seat on Long Island in 2022.
The longtime crypto lobbyist was on FTX’s payroll and was dating executive Ryan Salame, who copped a plea and is expected to testify against his former boss.
Bond’s bid in the Republican primary failed, but Emmer and Bond became close enough that she told friends he was her mentor, sources said.
Emmer’s office did not comment on his ties to Bond or FTX when contacted by The Post.
Her run for office is being investigated by Manhattan federal prosecutors for potentially violating campaign finance laws.
While an individual can self-fund their own campaign, a candidate can only take a maximum of $2,900 from donors in a primary. Investigators are looking into whether she took far more than that amount from her boyfriend.
Bond did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bond was previously chief executive at a crypto trade group, Association for Digital Asset Markets. She was also paid $200,000 by FTX as a consultant.
Emmer has also irked colleagues by lobbying to become speaker over the last few weeks — even when Jordan was the front-runner, insiders said.
“He annoyed people trying to lobby for the job … he got ahead of his skis,” a source said.
House Republicans selected Emmer as their latest speaker designate after five rounds of voting behind closed doors — exactly three weeks after the ouster of McCarthy (R-Calif.), and in the wake of the doomed speakership bids of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jordan (R-Ohio).
Both Scalise and Jordan dropped out of contention for speaker earlier this month after failing to garner enough Republican support to replace McCarthy.
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