The DOJ is pushing for FTX’s SBF detention pending trial, arguing that his actions went beyond exercising his right to speak to the press.
The DOJ has accused SBF of witness tampering for allegedly sharing former Caroline Ellison’s diary with Times.
In the ongoing legal action against the bankruptcy crypto exchange FTX, CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is getting fired every day. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has again asserted that Bankman-Fried should be “detained pending trial” due to his sharing of former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison’s diary with the New York Times.
Department of Justice Letter (Source: US DOJ)
This marks the second filing from the DOJ. The third in the back-and-forth between prosecutors and SBF’s defense team regarding allegations of massive financial fraud.
The DOJ argues that Bankman-Fried’s actions went beyond exercising his right to speak to the press and amounted to witness tampering, as he allegedly sought to discredit a trial witness and taint the jury pool covertly.
On July 28, the United States Department of Justice requested to revoke his bail. Accusing him of sharing Ellison’s diary with The New York Times to harass and intimidate her. Following that, Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers refuted claims of witness intimidation during his criminal trial. The defense argues there is no justification for imprisoning him.
Further, in an effort to avoid incarceration, FTX’s SBF enlisted prominent American constitutional law expert Laurence Tribe. Tribe, a longtime professor at Harvard Law School. He filed a response asserting that the disclosures made to the New York Times did not meet the threshold of “clear and convincing evidence” required for witness tampering.
However, Judge Lewis Kaplan, presiding over the case in the Southern District of New York. Might arrange a further hearing to address the submitted filings.