(RightWing.org) – Unless people have been living under rocks this past week, they’re aware that Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) imploded and found itself in receivership under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FCIC) in the largest bank failure since the great recession of 2008. Since they have come under the microscope, the political donations of its PAC (Political Action Committee) and the people who made up its top management have come under scrutiny — and the recipients are now attempting to distance themselves from the debacle.
Political Hot Potato
Several high-profile members of the Democratic Party have decided to return and/or donate to charity the admittedly paltry contributions they had received, at least those that can be easily traced back. Although there have been no accusations of any wrongdoing, the world of campaign financing can become a shell game of PACs, super PACs, and dark money.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, who was its chairperson until the Republicans gained the majority in the 2022 election, said she would return the SVB PAC’s $2,500 donation she received in 2020. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) received the maximum allowable individual donation of $5,800 from the bank’s now ex-CEO Greg Becker and reportedly plans to donate it to charities in his home state.
Records show that over the years, the PAC has donated to the campaigns of both Republicans and Democrats. Although, in the 2020 cycle, representatives from Red states were slighted — surely by the strangest of coincidences — except for those who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump. According to the website Open Secrets, recipients include Representatives Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), and now ex-Congressman Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH).
The leadership of SVB contained some people who have strong ties to the political Left, such as board member Kate Mitchell, who reportedly donated $50,000 to the 2016 Hillary (Clinton) Victory Fund, and was so distraught at the loss that she prayed at a Shinto shrine because of her grief and shock. Sitting on the board with her was Garen Staglin, another mega-donor for the Left, who donated tens of thousands of dollars to the campaigns of President Joe Biden, former president Barack Obama, Clinton, and the Democratic National Committee (DNC), according to media reports.
What might never be known is the total amount that actually went to progressive or liberal politicians because SVB was known to donate huge sums of money to groups that then donated to campaigns. As one example, nearly $71 million went to Black Lives Matter (BLM), according to a database published by the Claremont Institute. It appears they were attempting to improve their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) scores to fit in with the new Biden administration guidelines for investing government money.
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