Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried's Bail Denial Affirmed Amid Witness Tampering Concerns
Summary:
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried's bail denial has been affirmed by the US Attorney's Office due to concerns of witness tampering. Prosecutors argue his appeal is baseless, citing two instances of attempted tampering. Bankman-Fried's bail was revoked on August 11 after contacting witnesses. His lawyers claimed First Amendment protection, but the judge ruled that intimidation is a crime. Prosecutors presented arguments supporting the bail revocation.
The United States Attorney's Office has submitted a document affirming the decision to deny bail to former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. The document states that there are concerns about possible witness tampering and that no release conditions can guarantee the safety of the witnesses. The prosecutors have responded to Bankman-Fried's appeal against the bail revocation, calling it without merit. They argued that SBF had been found to have committed or attempted witness tampering on two occasions, and due to his ongoing evasion of pre-trial release conditions, it is unlikely that he would comply with any conditions of release. The first instance of attempted contact with a witness was revealed in January when Bankman-Fried reached out to the former General Counsel of FTX US, who is also a potential trial witness. The second incident occurred in July when private journal messages of Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda and an associate of Bankman-Fried, were leaked. The prosecutors have asked the District Court to consider how Bankman-Fried covertly provided private writings of Ellison to discredit her and potentially influence the jury's perception of the case. On July 26, during a court conference, prosecutors requested the revocation of Bankman-Fried's bail due to his violations of bail conditions and attempts to influence witnesses. Federal judge Lewis Kaplan from the District Court for the Southern District of New York granted this request on August 11 after finding that Bankman-Fried had contacted witnesses in an effort to influence or intimidate them. Bankman-Fried had been released on bail since December 2022, with a bond of $250 million. On August 28, Bankman-Fried's lawyers appealed the bail revocation, arguing that his right to speak to the press about Caroline Ellison was protected by the First Amendment. However, the prosecutors contended that Judge Kaplan had already taken Bankman-Fried's First Amendment rights into consideration when making the ruling, stating that once communication is done with the intent to intimidate or influence a witness, it becomes a crime unrelated to the First Amendment. The prosecutors presented two main arguments against Bankman-Fried's appeal: first, that the District Court was correct in finding probable cause that Bankman-Fried attempted witness tampering twice while on pretrial release, and second, that Judge Kaplan was justified in finding probable cause that Bankman-Fried sought to tamper with Witness 1. The prosecutors also noted that Bankman-Fried did not dispute the ruling regarding his attempt to contact the former FTX US counsel, which the judge considered a clear case of witness tampering.
Published At
9/6/2023 9:58:33 AM
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