(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Before Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., grubbed mountains of moolah in donations from individuals and political action committees associated with the defunct bank.
Open Secrets compiled data that indicated Schumer received $5,800 directly from SVB CEO Greg Becker, the maximum allowable individual contribution, and Biden received some $66,700 from Silicon Valley Bank affiliates in the 2020 election cycle. The DNC Services Corporation also received $21,400.
According to the Daily Wire, Schumer donated all funds he has garnered from SVB affiliates, including a $2,700 contribution from the PAC in 2015 after the financial institution collapsed.
Open Secrets also pointed out that each of the seven registered lobbyists employed by SVB in 2022 and each of the eight employed in 2021 had previously worked for the government. The only lobbying firm working on behalf of Silicon Valley Bank since 2011, Franklin Square Group, has opposed regulations established by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
Two of Franklin Square Group employees previously worked as senior aides to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.: Wes McClelland served as his senior policy advisor between 2011 and 2015 and Brian Worth was his director of coalitions between 2011 and 2014, the Daily Wire reported. McClelland also served as a senior policy advisor to former Rep. John Campbell, R-Calif., and the primary staffer for the House Financial Services Committee.
Other Franklin Square Group associates worked for politicians like Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, and former Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., as well as the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Even though that SVB essentially collapsed, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg still defended the banking system in their joint statement and gaslighted Americans by saying that they won’t be forced to pay for the bailout of the bank.
“The U.S. banking system remains resilient and on a solid foundation, in large part due to reforms that were made after the financial crisis that ensured better safeguards for the banking industry,” they wrote. “No losses associated with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank will be borne by the taxpayer.”
