On January 21, State Senator and U.S. Senate hopeful Zach Wahls treated the Capitol to an oratorical abomination. His goal? A proposed constitutional amendment to make corporate contributions “illegal-er”—despite the fact they’ve been prohibited in Iowa in one way or another since 1907.
For Wahls, this kind of narcissistic exercise is a daily routine, but this wasn’t just your standard moral preening. It was a desperate attempt to preempt criticism for his solicitation and acceptance of $250,000 in stolen money from disgraced FTX executive Nishad Singh.
As IFR previously reported, that quarter-million-dollar windfall—taken on behalf of Senate Democrats—was money looted from the accounts of crypto victims in a pyramid scheme masterminded by Sam Bankman-Fried. Naturally, Wahls pursued the most disingenuous path possible: a press conference on the “ills of corporate money” and a “no comment” to his willing accomplices in the media when his consumption of stolen cash was brought to light.
It has been publicly reported now that the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) has repaid a portion of that money, but don’t let a refund fool you—the damage is done. The stolen money was spent when it mattered, and the hypocrisy remains. Notably, the IDP didn’t return the cash out of the goodness of their hearts; they did so only after pressure from federal prosecutors. Even then, they didn’t send it all back. By only repaying a portion of what was owed, the IDP essentially claimed a “finder’s fee” at the expense of the victims…. Leave it to the IDP to keep $50,000 of dirty money and still find a way to end up in debt.
Democrats’ hubris knows no bounds, but Wahls’ performance over the last two months has tested the definition of infinity. Ultimately, Wahls doesn’t care. He will leave the bill to his unfortunate successors and continue to pretend he’s the white knight of progressivism—all while having dirtier hands than anyone in Iowa.
