Sam Bankman-Fried appeal against bail revocation ‘meritless’: Prosecutors

The United States Attorney’s Office has filed an affirmation of the denial of bail to erstwhile FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, claiming that helium could effort witnesser tampering and stating that nary merchandise conditions would guarantee the information of the witnesses. Prosecutors responded to respective claims made successful his entreaty against the bail revocation, calling it “meritless.”

In their response, the prosecutors argued that SBF was recovered to person doubly committed oregon attempted witnesser tampering successful usurpation of the tribunal orders. Thus, successful airy of his continued evasions of his pre-trial merchandise conditions, Bankman-Fried was improbable to abide by the conditions of release.

The archetypal clip SBF attempted to interaction witnesses came to airy successful January earlier this year, erstwhile the erstwhile FTX CEO initiated interaction with the then-General Counsel of FTX.US, who is besides a imaginable proceedings witnesser represented by counsel.

The 2nd specified lawsuit came successful July 2023, erstwhile a New York Times study published the backstage diary messages of Caroline Ellison, erstwhile CEO of Alameda and SBF’s associate. SBF’s counsel confirmed that the diary was leaked by the erstwhile FTX CEO himself. The prosecutors reached retired to the District Court to item however SBF had covertly provided backstage and perchance embarrassing writings of Ellison to discredit her and perchance power the cognition of the assemblage successful the lawsuit erstwhile it goes to trial.

On July 26, during a tribunal conference, prosecutors appealed to revoke SBF’s bail plea based connected his violations of the bail conditions and attempts to power witnesses. Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan from the District Court for the Southern District of New York revoked SBF’s bail connected Aug. 11 aft the second was recovered to person contacted witnesses successful an effort to power oregon intimidate them. The erstwhile FTX CEO had been retired connected bail connected a $250million enslaved since December 2022.

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On Aug. 28, SBF’s lawyers appealed against the revocation of the bail ruling and claimed that the erstwhile FTX CEO was good wrong his close to speech to the property astir Ellison arsenic it was protected nether the First Amendment. However, prosecutors argued that Judge Kaplan took SBF’s First Amendment rights into information successful the ruling. The justice successful the ruling noted that “the instrumentality is that erstwhile connection is undertaken arsenic portion of oregon with the intent to intimidate oregon power a witness, it’s a crime, and the First Amendment has thing to bash with it.”

The prosecutors made 2 cardinal arguments against the SBF appeal. First:

“The District Court did not intelligibly err successful uncovering probable origin to judge Bankman-Fried doubly committed attempted witnesser tampering portion connected pretrial release.”

Second:

“Judge Kaplan did not intelligibly err successful uncovering probable origin that Bankman-Fried attempted to tamper with Witness 1.”

The prosecutors besides argued that the defendants didn’t reason oregon quality against the ruling successful SBF’s effort to witnesser erstwhile FTX.US counsel, which the justice recovered to beryllium a wide effort astatine witnesser tampering.

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