Democratic Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum has removed herself from the criminal investigation of the cryptocurrency CEO who donated $500,000 to the Oregon Democratic Party under a fictitious name.
Roy Kaufmann, Rosenblum’s director of communications, emailed the Capital Chronicle to say that Nishad Singh, the former director of engineering of the scandal-plagued cryptocurrency firm FTX, will be investigated by the department under the supervision of Deputy Attorney General Lisa Udland.
Marquis, Joshua Put up a tweet with the following text:
Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum rescues herself from investigation into FTX exec who gave $500,000 to Oregon Democrats https://t.co/LSbWzbTk22
This is NOT an appropriate recusal. A true recusal would appoint someone OUTSIDE her chain of command!
— Joshua Marquis (@CoastdaMarquis) May 23, 2023
“The attorney general has chosen to recuse herself from this matter, including any review, investigation or prosecution of any individual, (including but not limited to Mr. Singh) or entity, related to or arising from the referral,” Kaufmann wrote.
State campaign finance records show that since 2012, Rosenblum has donated over $115,000 from her campaign fund to the party. Politicians at all levels often fundraise for political action committees (PACs) affiliated with parties and caucuses in order to help elect candidates who share their views.
Since he started working for the DOJ in 2002, Udland does not appear to have contributed to any state-level political campaigns or PACs.
In stark contrast to how the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office initially investigated Singh and the state Democratic Party, Rosenblum has recused himself from the case.
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For three years before entering the Secretary of State’s office, Molly Woon served as the party’s communications director and deputy director; she did not resign.
The party will pay a $15,000 fine and furnish the Elections Division with a comprehensive plan for correctly reporting future campaign contributions as part of a settlement agreement.
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