Sam Bankman-Fried has appealed the decision to jail him for allegedly tampering with witnesses ahead of his Oct. 3 trial over the collapse of his FTX cryptocurrency exchange.
In a filing late Friday night with the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers said the 31-year-old former billionaire was only exercising his First Amendment rights by sharing the writings of his former colleague and romantic partner Caroline Ellison with the New York Times reporter.
Ellison is one of three former members of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle expected to testify against him after pleading guilty to fraud. Bankman-Fried’s attorney said she shared her writing to defend her reputation, not to intimidate her.
“It is unclear how cooperating witnesses who have promised to testify against the defendant can be meaningfully threatened with anything but their own statements published by a reputable newspaper,” Bankman-Fried’s lawyers wrote.
Sam Bankman-Fried arrived in court on August 11, the day his bail was revoked.REUTERS
In her writing, which preceded the fall of FTX in November 2022, Ellison described feeling “unhappy and overwhelmed” with her job and “hurt/rejected” from her breakup with Bankman-Fried.
Prosecutors said Bankman-Fried released the writing to harass Ellison and to prevent others from testifying if they thought she would make them look bad in the press.
US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan revoked Bankman-Fried’s bail on August 11, finding probable cause to support the witness tampering charge.
Prosecutors have accused Bankman-Fried of stealing billions of dollars in client funds to cover losses at Alameda Research, a crypto-focused hedge fund he also owns and where Ellison is chief executive.
He has pleaded not guilty.
Bankman-Fried at a court hearing on August 22.REUTERS
In their appeal, Bankman-Fried’s attorneys also said their client’s lack of computer access at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center prevented him from being able to analyze the government’s evidence and properly prepare for trial.
Although Bankman-Fried has been allowed to meet with his lawyers twice a week, for six hours at a time, in Manhattan federal court, his lawyers say he needs more time, and are asking that he be released temporarily or they be released. allowed to meet five days a week.
His lawyers say locking him up at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, which has long been vilified by critics for its conditions, interferes with his constitutional right to be prepared for trial.
The defense also said the Brooklyn jail had failed to provide Bankman-Fried with Adderall for her attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or feed her a vegan diet, leaving her to live on bread, water and peanut butter.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
