The US Department of Justice Has an “Extremely Flimsy” Basis for the Incarceration of FTX’s Bankman Fried Before the Trial: Defense
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s defense team said he did not attempt to tamper with witnesses and that the US Department of Justice’s claim that he “misrepresented the truth” was false.
If the DOJ is successful in its motion to revoke the ex-CEO’s bail, the crypto-exchange’s former CEO could face jail time before his trial later this summer.
In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Sam Bankman Fried’s attorneys denied the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request to remand FTX founder Sam Bankman Fried. They said the DOJ’s reasoning was based on “extremely weak” facts.
The DOJ “jumped to conclusions,” the filing said, and also dismissed the government’s arguments that Bankman-Fried had repeatedly exceeded its bond clearance limits.
The government is wrong. The Government’s version of events is inaccurate and takes facts out of context, thereby casting the worst possible light on Mr Bankman Fried’s actions and intentions.
The New York Times reported that Bankman Fried had given the New York Times the personal diary of former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison to harass her and possibly tamper with her testimony at his October 2023 criminal trial.
Danielle Sassoon, Assistant US Attorney, said during a hearing last week that the Justice Department wanted Bankman-Fried incarcerated. Her team reinforced that argument in a written statement Friday.
The DOJ stated in its filing that “Defendant’s leak of Ellison’s private writings” is another example of Defendant attempting to intimidate and corruptly influence Ellison in connection with her forthcoming testimony. It is also an attempt to influence or exclude the testimony of potential trial witnesses by creating a fear that their most intimate affairs will be covered by the media.
Defense Complaint: DOJ’s argument does not prove Bankman intimidated Fried Ellison.
The reporter had contacted Mr. Bankman Fried about an article he was writing that contained Ms. Ellison’s personal writings and diaries. The reporter was said to have written about these documents two months earlier in an article detailing Ms. Ellison’s writings. He described them as containing her “raw reflections on SBF” and her “personal and professional anger” at him.
As an example of alleged witness tampering, the DOJ also cited Bankman-Fried’s prior contact with FTX.US General Counsel Ryne Miller to “check” things together.
Bankman-Fried’s attorneys responded that Miller initiated the conversation and shared a small number of screenshots of Signal messages. The first messages are from November 10, 2022, before Bankman-Fried was arrested. On a second page of the message, the date of dispatch is not specified. Miller links Bankman-Fried to the team at current FTX CEO John J. Ray III in a second exhibit.
A second exhibit contains the exact message Bankman-Fried sent, which the government found to be in error. It seems he did this both via email and Signal.
Bankman-Fried’s attorneys also asserted that his use of a privacy virtual network, which has been questioned by both the DOJ and the judge overseeing the case, was innocent and that there was no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the judge DOJ give.
The defense team further argued that Bankman-Fried would not be able to present a solid case if he were incarcerated, citing the working conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he could be held.
Bankman-Fried faces seven counts, including securities and wire fraud, in a trial that will begin in October. Bankman-Fried will face another five counts before the Justice Department in March, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He was arrested and extradited in December. After his release on bail, strict conditions were imposed on him.
Last week, the DOJ announced that it was eliminating a campaign finance fee due to contractual obligations.
UPDATE (2 Aug 2023 02:02 UTC) Add additional information to the exhibitions.
