Sam Bankman-Fried’s crisis manager quits following FTX founder's unexpected prison interview with Tucker Carlson: report

Sam Bankman-Fried’s crisis manager has reportedly quit following the FTX founder’s prison interview with Tucker Carlson published unannounced on Thursday, according to Business Insider. 

Mark Botnick, who started representing Bankman-Fried following the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November 2022, resigned on Thursday after learning of the interview. Botnick has confirmed with The Block that he has quit representing Bankman-Fried.

This is the second interview Bankman-Fried has given in recent weeks, after breaking his two-year public silence since being incarcerated. The interviews appear to be part of Bankman-Fried’s alleged attempts at receiving a presidential pardon. 

In both interviews, Bankman-Fried praised President Trump, criticized the former Biden administration and argued that he began to take the Republican Party more seriously after failed engagements with Gary Gensler, a former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bankman-Fried, prior to his arrest, was perhaps best known as the billionaire who practiced "effective altruism" and gave massive donations to Democratic politicians. 

In the year between the multi-billion collapse of FTX and his court hearing, Bankman-Fried gave countless interviews to the press, sometimes landing himself in trouble. In one instance, he showed a journalist his former girlfriend’s diary, which landed him in jail to prevent potential witness tampering.

Botnick reportedly worked with Bankman-Fried throughout this period. The PR manager was also reportedly caught unaware when Bankman-Fried posted on X about the Trump administration's efforts to fire federal employees.

Bankman-Fried is serving a 25-year prison sentence after a jury found him guilty in 2023 of seven fraud and money-laundering charges related to the $11 billion collapse of FTX.

Update: Added confirmation from Botnick on his resignation