The founding partner of the news platform Puck, William Cohan, recently had a conversation with Michael Lewis, the author of “Going Infinite,” a book about the convicted Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). During the talk, Lewis shared more thoughts on SBF’s life and made some interesting revelations. 

How Sam Bankman-Fried Wanted To Pay Off Trump

In a publication detailing his talk with Lewis, Cohan mentioned how Sam Bankman-Fried had brought up the ‘absurd’ idea of paying off Donald Trump to Lewis during one of their interviews. The former FTX founder was reportedly wondering if $5 billion was going to be enough to make the former President disappear and not contest for President again. 

Cohan mentioned how Lewis seemed skeptical about the idea when Bankman-Fried brought it up. One of the things that ran through his mind was the legality of what SBF was suggesting. The author of “Going Infinite” also quizzed Sam Bankman-Fried about the possibility of Trump honoring their agreement even if he were to agree to the $5 billion bribe. 

Lewis mentioned to SBF that Trump could easily take the money and run. If that were to happen, he quizzed Bankman-Fried on what he could do about it. Lewis seemed to be certain that such an agreement could not work out, as Cohan mentioned in his publication. Lewis just found it funny and was in disbelief that the FTX founder and Trump could discuss such a thing.

SBF Wanted To Be Punished

Michael Lewis released the book “Going Inifite” on the day that Bankman-Fried’s trial began (October 3). However, that wasn’t the end of Lewis’ quest into the FTX founder’s life, as he was present during his trial. He told Cohan about how he watched SBF testify like someone who “was trying to be punished.”

Lewis’ belief stemmed from the fact that Sam Bankman-Fried kept evading questions put to him by the prosecutors which would naturally suggest that he was being dishonest. The author seems to believe that it was an intentional act by the convict to put forth his guilt. Lewis also believes that Bankman-Fried choosing to testify in the first place suggested that he wanted to get punished. 

Meanwhile, the author mentioned to Cohan that it was “very clear” that Bankman-Fried was going to be convicted from the onset of the trial. Having been at the trial, he noted how he drew this conclusion largely from the evidence the prosecution introduced at trial. This also includes the fact that SBF’s ‘inner circle’ had also pleaded guilty and testified against him. 

He told Cohan about how their testimony was laced with emotions which “made it all sound much more damning than it was.” Alameda Research’s ex-CEO, Caroline Ellison, FTX’s co-founder Gary Wang, and FTX’s former Director of Engineering, Nishad Singh, were the members of the ‘inner circle’ that testified against Bankman-Fried.