Agreed. I think SBF's current treatment proves nothing about corruption. For two main reasons.
One is that there's no great reason for the prosecutors to rush, and plenty of reason for them to wait until the picture is clearer. The person now in charge of FTX oversaw Enron's liquidation. He will be getting to the bottom of what happened and producing a report. Plenty of other investigation is underway. And SBF is ignoring advice of counsel (plus that of basically any lawyer with a pulse) and giving extended interviews. They can charge him any time they want, and for now waiting only improves their position.
The other is that even if we assume our politicians are nakedly corrupt and that exonerations are for sale, there's no reason to think that past money would influence that. SBF is broke. They already have his money. So even if they are entirely without honor, the best thing they can do for themselves is throw SBF under the bus. They get exactly the same amount of money, plus the political capital from appearing honest.
One is that there's no great reason for the prosecutors to rush, and plenty of reason for them to wait until the picture is clearer. The person now in charge of FTX oversaw Enron's liquidation. He will be getting to the bottom of what happened and producing a report. Plenty of other investigation is underway. And SBF is ignoring advice of counsel (plus that of basically any lawyer with a pulse) and giving extended interviews. They can charge him any time they want, and for now waiting only improves their position.
The other is that even if we assume our politicians are nakedly corrupt and that exonerations are for sale, there's no reason to think that past money would influence that. SBF is broke. They already have his money. So even if they are entirely without honor, the best thing they can do for themselves is throw SBF under the bus. They get exactly the same amount of money, plus the political capital from appearing honest.