Bitcoin breaks down the barriers of exclusivity and privilege that characterize the interplay
between political and financial power in America.
To be against Bitcoin is to be against freedom, fairness, non-violence, and voluntary choice.
A crusade against Bitcoin is a crusade against truth.
You have an opportunity to be truthful, to be open, to be welcoming of this monetary
technology which is diametrically opposed to the closed-door dealings and revolving
door access between Washington and Wall Street.
Greetings and salutations, my fellow pubs.
My name is Walker and this is the Bitcoin Podcast.
The Bitcoin Block Height is 822-011 and the value of one Bitcoin is still one Bitcoin.
Today's episode is Bitcoin Out Loud and I'm going to read you something I just wrote today
and published on btctimes.com.
It's a response to several of Elizabeth Warren's recent actions and statements and her comments
about the revolving door in Washington.
Warren clearly has it out for Bitcoin users, Bitcoin node runners, and Bitcoin miners and
I'm sure she's going to continue trying to strip away basic freedoms from Americans,
culminating with a push to make self-custody itself illegal because she's clearly feeling
the totalitarian temptation.
So now's a good time to go to bitbox.swiss.walker and use the promo code walker for 5% off the
Bitcoin only BitBoxO2 hardware wallet.
Again, it's Bitcoin only, it's fully open source, just go to their github and verify
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Then get your Bitcoin off the exchanges and into your own self-custody so you can tell
Warren to come and take it.
As always, you can watch the video version of this episode on Rumble, YouTuber X, by
searching at Walker America, or listen on fountain.fm or wherever you get your podcasts,
by searching for the Bitcoin podcast.
If you listen to the Bitcoin podcast on fountain, consider giving the show a boost or creating
a clip of something you've found interesting.
If you haven't checked out fountain yet and you're a bit coiner, I highly recommend it.
You can send bitcoin your favorite podcasters and earn bitcoin just for listening to the
show.
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hit me up on social media or go to bitcoinpodcast.net.
Without further ado, let's get into this Bitcoin out loud read.
Washington's Revolving Door Elizabeth Warren's Totalitarian Crusade Against
Bitcoin and What It Reveals About the Hypocrisy of Washington, by Walker.
On December 18, Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote a letter to Kristen Smith, the CEO of the
Blockchain Association, chastising her and her organization for flexing a not-so-secret
weapon, a small army of former defense, national security, and law enforcement officials to
work on your behalf to undermine pipe partisan efforts in Congress and the Biden administration
to address the role of cryptocurrency in financing Hamas and other terrorist organizations.
Just what is Senator Warren referring to?
On November 15, a coalition of digital asset industry companies and entrepreneurs with
U.S. military and national security backgrounds sent a letter to members of Congress to address
and clarify misperceptions about illicit finance and money laundering.
Here's one key paragraph.
We are concerned that recent reporting on Hamas's use of cryptocurrency, which has
been grossly overstated, debunked by its source, and partially corrected by its editors, continues
to be used to push legislation that would be counterproductive to U.S. national security
interests.
The authors of the November 15 letter to Congress endeavored to open a dialogue with Washington,
eager to engage on policy issues and correct misconceptions clearly held by some misinformed
members of Congress.
Smith even invited Senator Warren to their annual policy summit in D.C., just one mile
from Warren's office, a genuine invitation to speak with our industry directly.
Sadly, Senator Warren's response was entirely predictable and exceedingly disappointing.
Senator Warren ends her letter with an ultimatum, asking Kristen Smith to provide answers to
the following questions no later than January 14, 2024.
1.
How many former military, civilian, government officials or members of Congress are currently
employed by or on behalf of your association?
Please provide a full list of all such officials and their former roles in government.
How much are they compensated on an annual basis?
2.
For all officials listed in response to question 1, please provide a summary of their responsibilities.
Are they registered lobbyists or do they work as advisors, counselors, or in other roles?
A list of all legislation or regulatory activities where they have been involved with in Congress
or the administration.
A list of all Biden administration officials they have met with in relation to these activities.
A list of any other activities meeting with federal government officials, any federal
experience with cryptocurrency or terrorist financing.
Specifically, were there any individuals who signed the November 15, 2023 letter sent by
your organization employed by or compensated by any other crypto firms or crypto industry
associations?
If so, list these individuals.
3.
With regard to the individuals listed in response to question 1, was your association in contact
with any of them about employment while they were still employed by the government?
If so, please list all individuals and the nature of the contacts.
4.
Does your association have a code of ethics that restricts contacts with active government
officials about future employment or restricts the activities of former government employees
that are now working for your association or on its behalf?
If so, please provide a copy of the code of ethics.
Here's another excerpt from the Warren letter.
This abuse of the revolving door is appalling, revealing that the crypto industry is spending
millions to give itself a veneer of legitimacy while fighting tooth and nail to stonewall
common sense rules designed to restrict the use of crypto for terror financing, rules that
could cut into crypto company profits.
It also reveals significant gaps in the nation's ethics laws.
These gaps allow former government officials, including former national security officials,
to leave their positions in the public trust and almost immediately cash in and go to work
as lobbyists or advisors for private sector industries with a keen interest in federal
policy.
This is wrong.
Americans should be confident that government officials are working on their behalf rather
than auditioning for high paid lobbying jobs or abusing the connections that they have
made in government service to influence members of Congress and regulators after they have
made a trip through the revolving door.
I for one agree with Senator Warren about the abuse of the revolving door.
Washington elites capitalize on their insider connections to make a killing in the private
sector, but I am skeptical of Warren's motivations.
After all, if she really cared about abuse of the revolving door, then you'd think she
would be focusing her efforts on the insiders and abusers that are far more blatant and
longstanding.
Going through all the abuses of Washington's revolving door would take many books.
So for today, let's take a look at a few high profile examples of abuses and hypocrisy
policies, as they relate to Washington insiders, big banks, and the political elite.
Janet Yellen Before becoming the Treasury Secretary in
2021 under President Joe Biden, Janet Yellen earned millions in speaking fees from Wall
Street and large corporations in the few short years after leaving the Federal Reserve in
2018.
Janet Yellen has an illustrious career as a Washington insider.
She is the former Chair of the Federal Reserve, 2014-2018, Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve,
2010-2014, Member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, 2010-2018, President of the
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 2004-2010, and Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
under President Clinton.
Directly after she finished her tenure as the Chair of the Federal Reserve, Yellen
raked in more than $7.2 million in speaking fees from Wall Street and large corporations,
including City, Goldman Sachs, Google, City National Bank, UBS, Citadel LLC, Barclays,
Credit Suisse, Salesforce, and more.
Now, after taking millions from Wall Street, Yellen walked back through the revolving
door and into her current seat as the Secretary of the Treasury, from the Federal Reserve
to Wall Street and straight back to the Treasury.
What a journey.
The Federal Reserve literally controls the creation of our money in the United States
and the Treasury Department controls how the government spends that money.
For the last 20-plus years, Yellen has been in the innermost circle of string-pullers
who control the monetary and fiscal path of our nation.
But the question is, who controls Janet Yellen?
The Clintons.
Hillary Clinton, along with Bill Clinton, has received truly absurd speaking fees from
Wall Street entities.
Between 2001 and 2016, they received approximately $153 million in speaking fees, including
at least eight speeches given by Hillary to big banks totaling $1.8 million.
She demanded a minimum fee of $225,000 per speech, paid three times by Goldman Sachs,
and happily paid by a number of other Wall Street firms, including Morgan Stanley, Deutsche
Bank, Fidelity Investments, UBS, and Bank of America.
Hedge funds and private equity firms also got in on the action, like Apollo Management
and Colberg, Kravitz, Roberts.
Over the years, major banks like Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley
have significantly contributed to Hillary Clinton's political campaigns and her charity,
The Clinton Foundation, donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to Clinton over her
career.
The Clinton Foundation has also received $1 million to $5 million from entities such
as Goldman Sachs, Barclays, and The City Foundation, and $500,000 to $1 million from the Bank of
America Foundation, Citigroup, HSBC, and UBS, alongside hundreds of thousands from other
large banks.
Again, this is only the data up to 2016, because apparently the legacy media stopped caring
about Hillary Clinton's abuse of the revolving door after her failed presidential campaign.
Thanks to inflation, I'm sure Hillary commands a much higher speaking fee these days.
The best part about Washington is you don't even have to have a job in politics to take
advantage of political clout for personal gain.
As long as your family is well connected, you're set for life.
Just look at Hunter Biden.
Thanks to being the son of former Vice President and current President Joe Biden, Hunter was
able to land impressively lucrative deals with Chinese and Ukrainian firms, raking
in millions.
But Hunter's most impressive accomplishments came when he stopped advising foreign companies
and started painting instead.
Most artists worked their whole lives to refine their art, often never achieving any sort
of professional success even when they possess immense talent.
But not Hunter.
He was a natural.
Just one year after beginning his career as an artist, Hunter had already sold $1.3 million
worth of his art.
A single unknown buyer spent $875,000 on 11 Biden artworks.
But Hunter's paltry $1.3 million pales in comparison to the $15 million his parents,
Joe and Joe Biden, received in the two years after they left the White House, where Joe
served as President Obama's VP.
The Obamas During his presidency, Barack Obama's administration
hired over 70 previously registered lobbyists.
Despite his promises to tackle the revolving door culture in Washington, many officials
from his administration transitioned through this door into lobbying or Wall Street positions,
and many started on Wall Street to begin with.
For instance, former Attorney General Eric Holder returned to Wall Street law firm Covington
and Burling after his tenure, a firm where several former Obama officials had already
landed.
Obama also commands a hefty sum for speaking engagements.
In just one of many examples, Obama received $400,000 for a speech paid for by Wall Street
Bank Cantor Fitzgerald, but former First Lady Michelle Obama does even better.
She was reportedly paid $750,000 after giving a one-hour speech on diversity and inclusion
in Germany.
Zooming Out
Perhaps it seems I am cherry picking instances of Washington's revolving door benefiting
the political elite, but these are simply some of the most blatant and obvious examples.
There's one larger example that provides additional context, the Obama administration's
prosecution of the architects of the 2008 financial crisis, or rather, the lack thereof.
There was not a single arrest or prosecution of any senior Wall Street banker for the systemic
fraud that precipitated the 2008 financial crisis.
In a 2013 article for The Guardian, Glenn Greenwald noted, as Kaufman and his staffers
make clear, Obama officials were plainly uninterested in pursuing criminal accountability for Wall
Street.
One former staffer to both Biden and Kaufman, Jeff Conotten, wrote a book in 2011, The Pay
Off, Why Wall Street Always Wins, devoted to alerting the nation that the Obama DOJ
refused to even try to find criminal culprits on Wall Street.
In the book, this career democratic aid turned whistleblower details how the levers of Washington
power are used to shield and protect high-level Wall Street executives, many of whom have
close ties to the leaders of both parties and themselves are former high-level government
officials.
This is a system he makes clear that is constituted to ensure that those executives never face
real accountability even for their most egregious and destructive crimes.
Greenwald concludes the article by stating,
Americans continue to be plagued by massive unemployment, foreclosures, the threat of austerity
and economic insecurity, while those who cause those problems have more power and profit
than ever, and they watch millions of their fellow citizens be put in cages for relatively
minor offenses, while the most powerful are free to commit far more serious crimes with
complete impunity.
Far less injustice than this has spurred serious unrest in other societies.
Why is this recent history so relevant to our topic today?
Because Senator Elizabeth Warren is in bed with the same too big to fail banks that President
Obama refused to prosecute, the same banks who have paid untold billions of dollars to
numerous Washington insiders on both sides of the aisle, the same banks who are the true
facilitators of money laundering, the same banks who handled Jeffrey Epstein's money.
Elizabeth Warren is actively trying to ban Bitcoin, expand the surveillance state, and
strip away Americans' basic right to privacy and the freedom to transact.
She is siding with big banks over her own constituents, whom she is supposed to serve.
She refuses to meet with Bitcoin and crypto organizations, and instead sends threatening
letters demanding a level of accountability that she has never required of her fellow
Washington insiders.
Senator Warren refuses to acknowledge the fact that she has, on multiple occasions,
used incorrect data or outright lies to advance her anti-Bitcoin agenda.
So, Senator Warren, let me be clear, I agree with you that Washington's revolving door
is a problem, and one which we must address.
But I do not believe that you are actually interested in solving this problem.
You are only interested in so far as it relates to your totalitarian anti-Bitcoin crusade.
Perhaps I am wrong, I would love to be, so I will give you a chance to prove it.
As a show of good faith, I ask that you publicly commit to never taking speaking fees or provide
paid advisory services to any business or consultancy firms after your tenure in the
Senate is complete, and commit to never joining any lobbying group, NGO, or PAC that attempts
to influence politics.
After all, this would be a clear abuse of the revolving door, right?
I further ask that you commit to investigating the big banks and their lobbyists, applying
the same framework of questions that you requested of Kristen Smith.
Will you commit, Senator?
Or will you continue masquerading as a liberal while championing the same policies advanced
by totalitarian governments?
You have often claimed to be fighting for the little guy, but your recent actions suggest
exactly the opposite.
Bitcoin is an open, decentralized, transparent, and fair monetary protocol.
It stands as a stark contrast to the revolving door benefiting Washington and Wall Street
elites.
It is decentralized, with people from across the world voluntarily opting in, and it operates
independently of traditional financial systems and political influence, challenging the
opaque and self-serving dynamics of the elite power networks you purport to champion against.
In Washington and on Wall Street, we know there is no equal treatment under the law.
But under Bitcoin, everyone is truly equal, because everyone must play by the same rules,
regardless of their political power and influence.
Bitcoin breaks down the barriers of exclusivity and privilege that characterize the interplay
between political and financial power in America.
To be against Bitcoin is to be against freedom, fairness, non-violence, and voluntary choice.
A crusade against Bitcoin is a crusade against truth.
You have an opportunity to be truthful, to be open, to be welcoming of this monetary technology,
which is diametrically opposed to the closed-door dealings and revolving door access between
Washington and Wall Street.
You have an opportunity to make new allies, who truly want to give power back to the people,
and who are willing to fight for it in a non-violent revolt against would-be totalitarians who side
with the power elite to trample the rights of the average citizen.
All you have to do is open your mind and listen.
You have a decision to make, Senator, and history will remember you for it one way or the other.
I hope you choose wisely.
And that's a wrap on this Bitcoin Out Loud episode of The Bitcoin Podcast.
If you are a Bitcoin-only company interested in sponsoring another fucking Bitcoin podcast,
head to bitcoinpodcast.net.
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If you want to follow The Bitcoin Podcast on Twitter, go to at titcoinpodcast and at
walkeramerica.
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Bitcoin is scarce.
There will only ever be 21 million.
But Bitcoin podcasts are abundant.
So thank you for spending your scarce time to listen to another fucking Bitcoin podcast.
Until next time, stay free.