If the politicians protect SBF to any extent, they signal to potential donors how useful a donation can be. Some of the rich will start donating or increasing their donations to get the same "get-out-of-jail-or-have-sentence-reduced" card.
I think it is a tacit agreement among white-crime - don't get too big. So long as you can stay out of the spotlight, you are probably fine. SBF was evidently way too greedy and far too public. This crash is spreading to the entire crypto economy and has a chance to bring it all down.
Someone is going to be the sacrificial lamb, and there are few targets as juicy.
If the politicians protect SBF to any extent, they signal to potential donors how useful a donation can be. Some of the rich will start donating or increasing their donations to get the same "get-out-of-jail-or-have-sentence-reduced" card.