1 year ago
Sam Bankman-Fried's presumption successful tribunal won't footwear disconnected until aboriginal this week, but it's already wide his defence whitethorn hinge connected 1 cardinal witness: himself.
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That's according to Kevin O’Brien, a spouse astatine Ford O'Brien LLP and a erstwhile adjunct U.S. lawyer who specializes successful achromatic collar transgression cases.
"SBF is the defence case, for amended oregon for worse," O’Brien told CoinDesk. "The lawsuit frankincense acold appears to person not gone good for him and I uncertainty the defence volition person immoderate different important witnesses."
Weeks ago, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers filed their projected database of adept witnesses – a roster that included respective instrumentality experts, a concern prof and a information analytics and forensics specialist. However, Judge Lewis Kaplan, who's overseeing the case, granted the prosecution’s petition to barroom those witnesses for a assortment of reasons, including arguments that the witnesses’ grounds would beryllium tangential to the lawsuit and that the witnesses themselves were unfit to attest successful a U.S. transgression trial.
He did let the defence to transportation 4 of the projected adept witnesses again.
A caller tribunal filing shows the defence plans to telephone astatine slightest six witnesses to the stand. One of those witnesses volition apt beryllium the sole projected adept witness, Joseph Pimbley, a fiscal services adept and advisor who volition attest astir FTX and Alameda's financials. The identities of the remaining 5 witnesses person not yet been shared.
It is imaginable galore of the remaining 5 volition beryllium quality witnesses, oregon individuals who could attest to the defendant’s motivation scruples and conduct, alternatively than witnesses who are called up to verify the facts of the case, specified arsenic Ryan Salame oregon different members of Bankman-Fried’s inner-circle, O'Brien said.
That’s because, according to O’Brien, immoderate adjuvant information witnesses would apt request to plead the 5th should the prosecution effort to compel them to nutrient perchance damning grounds against Bankman-Fried.
And portion pleading the 5th cannot, connected its own, beryllium utilized arsenic grounds successful a transgression trial, it could beryllium a atrocious look for the defense. According to the FindLaw blog, jurors “tend to marque an adverse inference against anyone who pleads the fifth.”
We present cognize the defence whitethorn telephone connected a fig of witnesses erstwhile the proceedings resumes tomorrow. While we inactive don't cognize astir of their identities, they whitethorn beryllium asked to verify that Bankman-Fried did not mean (or conspire) to perpetrate fraud, that helium was unaware of the grade of problems astatine his companies oregon that FTX was not capable to get idiosyncratic funds.
As always, we'll look to the assemblage to spot if these arguments person immoderate impact.
Separately, connected Tuesday, the DOJ and defence engaged successful a further back-and-forth implicit assemblage instructions (following past week's filings). Judge Lewis Kaplan has tended to fto parties reason verbally successful tribunal alternatively than strictly trust connected paperwork, truthful portion we whitethorn spot an bid earlier proceedings resumes Thursday, it seems acold much apt that he'll instrumentality a fewer minutes astatine the commencement oregon extremity of the proceedings time to perceive the parties' concerns earlier ruling.
Edited by Nikhilesh De.
English (US) 