FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and Donald Trump may use a similar and rare trial defense — that they should not be held accountable for their alleged crimes because they were only following the advice of their lawyers.
Advice of counsel defenses are rare because most people don’t consult a lawyer before breaking the law, former federal prosecutor Nancy DePodesta told The Post.
“Often criminal defendants do not use legal services before indictment. So I don’t think it’s a defense that we see often,” he said.
This defense is most often used in white-collar crime cases, he said.
John Lauro, a lawyer for the former president — who is indicted in federal court for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election — said Trump, 77, was acting on guidance he got from constitutional expert and lawyer John Eastman when asking former Vice President Mike Pence to delay the count of Congressional presidential electors so that states can check for any voting irregularities.
Lauro said on Fox News that everything the former commander-in-chief tried “was done with lawyers advising him.”
Meanwhile, earlier this month, lawyers for Bankman-Fried stated that they also plan to mount an advice-of-counsel defense at his trial on October 2, where he faces allegations that he defrauded customers of the defunct FTX cryptocurrency exchange to finance a lavish lifestyle and returns on risky investments in Alameda Research’s FTX-related hedge funds.
Donald Trump’s lawyer has indicated that he will try to say he acted on the advice of his lawyer in the case that accuses him of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election.AP
The alleged rogue crypto attorney said the firm Fenwick & West LLP “has provided legal advice to FTX and Alameda on various topics directly related to the conduct alleged in the indictment,” according to a letter filed in court Wednesday.
DePodesta said he didn’t think the advice-of-counsel defense would work in Trump’s case because the attorneys were charged with him — and because the indictment “expects” Trump to use the defense when claiming he didn’t like the legal input he had. got, so he looked for a lawyer who agreed with him.
The case “presented various lawyers and legal advisers who basically told Trump that the election was lost and there was no fraud,” DePodesta said. “Instead, at least according to the indictment, Trump is turning around and looking for lawyers who will tell him what he wants to hear.”
Sam Bankman-Fried’s attorneys also said they plan to charge that he acted on the advice of his attorney in the fraud case he faces. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag
“You can’t go out and get bad advice to do something illegal,” he said.
As for SBF, Fenwick’s firm has been sued in two cases – one from earlier this month – alleging it colluded with Bankman-Fried.
“If a lawyer is involved in that offense, it affects any defense of counsel,” DePodesta stressed.
In the Bankman-Fried case, it’s too early to know whether that strategy will work because the context of the legal advice has yet to be disclosed, DePodesta said, noting there are many unanswered questions.
“It’s not complete enough,” he added. “We don’t know what, if any, advice was sought and we don’t know what advice was given.”
“Is SBF the one who went to get this advice himself or someone else? What is the nature of that advice?”
Even if it’s a weak defense in any case, “If you think it has some level of merit, I think you’re going to pursue it because that could resonate with jurors,” DePodesta added.
Both Trump and Bankman-Fried have pleaded not guilty in their cases.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
