Sam Bankman-Fried Denies Witness Tampering Allegations in Battle to Avoid Jail Before Trial

Updated: 02 August 2023

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Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers denied that the former FTX CEO’s interview with a New York Times reporter amounted to witness tampering and that he should thus not be jailed before his trial for criminal fraud.

They argued in an August 1 letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan that there are no grounds for his bail to be revoked, adding that it was within his rights to communicate with the newspaper. The prosecution’s assertion that SBF’s “comments must have been designed to intimidate witnesses or improperly influence the trial” were wrong, relying heavily on assumptions and unsupported inferences and innuendo, they said.

Bankman-Fried is charged with allegedly scheming to defraud investors in the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX.

Bankman-Fried neither attempted to threaten or slur Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of FTX affiliate Alameda Research, they added. .

SBF denies witness tampering amid leak of ex-girlfriend’s diary
Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried claim that his alleged sharing of Caroline Ellison's diary with the New York Times does not amount to witness tampering.

— Mr Legend Crypto (@mrlegendcrypto) August 2, 2023

“It was a proper exercise of his rights to make fair comment on an article already in progress, for which the reporter already had alternate sources,” the letter said. “The full record reflects that Mr. BankmanFried acted in good faith and without any improper or corrupt intent.”

As such, they said his detention ahead of trial, as requested by the prosecution, was unwarranted.

The letter was an response to claims made by the US Department of Justice that alleged Bankman-Fried leaked Ellison’s diary to the New York Times as a way to intimidate and threaten an important government witness in his case.

SBF’s Antics: Witness Intimidation or a Bona-Fide Defense Strategy?

In a letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan, US DOJ wants SBF’s bail revoked. DOJ argues that SBF has twice attempted to tamper with witnesses, most recently when SBF leaked his colleague/ex-girlfriend's diary entries… pic.twitter.com/QC7FHmG7OP

— John Reed Stark (@JohnReedStark) July 29, 2023

Judge Kaplan had instructed attorneys to submit written arguments before he made a decision on whether Bankman-Fried should be imprisoned or allowed to remain in his parents’ Palo Alto, California, home, where his electronic communications are tightly restricted and are subject to government surveillance.

The DOJ said that by participating in the interview and sharing the diary, he was “ circumventing his bail conditions” which justified the need for its revocation.

Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Propose an Order

SBF’s defense team also claimed that the article portrayed Ellison in a sympathetic manner, hurting the defense more than the prosecution. The article, entitled ‘Inside the Private Writings of Caroline Ellison, Star Witness in the FTX Case,’ revealed details including Ellison’s feelings of being overburdened by her profession, and her sadness at her breakup with Bankman-Fried.

Inside the Private Writings of Caroline Ellison, Star Witness in the FTX Case https://t.co/SBktYyvJSR

— Sean Graf (@seangraf) July 20, 2023

“The Government is at least partially responsible for this deluge by repeatedly using the press to tout its evidence against Mr. Bankman-Fried,” the lawyers said.

They also said that if Bankman-Fried were imprisoned, it would be hard for him and his attorneys to effectively prepare for the trial because he needs access to millions of documents, some of which can only be read online.

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