Christine Drazan Wants Investigation of FTX Contribution That Helped Defeat Her in 2022

An attorney representing House Minority Leader Christine Drazan (R-Canby) has asked state officials to revisit a large, controversial 2022 campaign contribution to the Democratic Party of Oregon.

The issue is a $500,000 contribution that, as The Oregonian first reported, was initially improperly attributed. Oregon law requires that political contributions accurately identify the donor. The failure to properly identify a donor can be a Class C felony.

“Many Oregonians have long questioned just how expansive and corrupting this huge donation, one of the largest in Oregon’s history to a statewide political party, has been to the ordinary processes in our our state government,” Drazan’s campaign attorney, Matthew Wand, wrote to Secretary of State Tobias Read on Jan. 16.

The $500,000 donation on Oct. 4, 2022, was initially attributed to Prime Trust LLC, a Nevada financial institution. It was the largest single contribution the Democratic Party of Oregon has disclosed since Oregon began electronic campaign filings nearly 20 years ago.

The DPO subsequently amended the filing to identify the donor as Nishad Singh, then one of the top executives at the cryptocurrency firm FTX.

The timing and amount of the contribution are an important part of the story. The money came into the DPO as it was helping Tina Kotek, a Democrat, in her race for governor against Drazan and former state Sen. Betsy Johnson, who ran as a nonaffiliated candidate.

FTX, once among the brightest lights in the crypto industry, collapsed spectacularly in November 2022, declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Nov. 11, three days after Kotek won the governor’s race.

Singh pleaded guilty to fraud and campaign finance charges (he acknowledged making political contributions in his own name with money that should have been attributed to FTX) and helped prosecutors build their case against FTX founder Sam Bankman Fried.

In Oregon, the secretary of state’s Elections Division fined the Democratic Party of Oregon $15,000 in a May 11, 2023, settlement in which the agency also agreed to drop any criminal investigation of the party. (Federal officials subsequently forced the DPO to give the money back, having determined it came from fraudulent FTX activities.)

In his January letter to Read, Wand argues that neither the Secretary of State’s Office nor the Oregon Department of Justice was legally allowed to investigate the contribution because the Democratic elected officials in charge of both agencies (former Secretary of State Shemia Fagan and former Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum) had previously gotten backing from the Democratic Party.

“Under ORS 260.345(2), the secretary of state must refer an investigation to the attorney general if the complaint concerns any political committee or person supporting the candidacy of the secretary of state,” Wand wrote. “[The law] requires the secretary of state to appoint an outside prosecutor to investigate and prosecute the case if the alleged violation involves a political committee or person supporting the candidacy of the attorney general.”

Wand is now pressing for an independent investigation.

In a Feb. 7 response to Drazan and Wand, Read noted that he had cleaned house since taking office in January.

“The deputy secretary of state, chief of staff, elections director, an attorney working directly for the executive office, and one deputy elections director who were in charge at the time these issues occurred are no longer employed by this agency,” Read wrote.

He added that since Wand was making a legal argument for a new investigation, Read would need to consult the Oregon Department of Justice, which advises state agencies on legal matters.

“With regards to the 2023 complaint related to ORS 260.345 and your assertions that required statutory processes were not followed by the previous secretary of state’s administration, those are legal matters,” Read wrote. “Especially given the concerns you raised about this agency’s compliance with Oregon law, I would be hesitant to move forward without guidance from the attorney general’s office.”

The Department of Justice is in consultation with Read on the letter.

“We are currently working with the secretary of state’s office to provide them with guidance and legal advice,” DOJ spokeswoman Jenny Hansson says, “but cannot share any further details.”

This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project, a nonprofit newsroom covering rural Oregon. OJP seeks to inform, engage, and empower readers with investigative and watchdog reporting that makes an impact. Our stories appear in partner newspapers across the state. Learn more at oregonjournalismproject.org.