Before his trial for fraud in October, Sam Bankman-Fried’s formidable legal team is advocating for the FTX founder’s provisional release from custody. Since his arrest last year, Bankman-Fried was initially released on bond while awaiting trial. He is accused of planning a multi-billion dollar scam that took down the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. Attorneys Mark Cohen and Christian Everdell argue in a motion submitted on Thursday that Bankman-Fried’s access to discovery materials, which are necessary to help him prepare his defence against claims that he deceived investors and abused the FTX client cash, is being denied, which violates his Sixth Amendment rights. On this pretext, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers want his temporary release.
The Background – Compromised position of Bankman-Fried and his lawyers’ submissions
While Bankman-Fried’s lawyers want his temporary release, the same has been expressed alongside an expanded access to trial preparation which is being demanded in a letter alleging breach of FTX the founder’s rights.
The attorneys claim Bankman-Fried requires “constant access” to a laptop with internet access so he may browse through millions of volumes of documents, look up background information online, create analyses of the evidence, and communicate with his legal team.
The lawyers state that Bankman-Fried is deprived of the 80 to 100 hours he spent preparing before going to jail under the current arrangement, which allows him only 12 hours per week using a courthouse computer without internet.
Friedman argues for his self-preservation amidst several problems
It has been repeatedly instated via various media and news outlets that Bankman-Fried’s lawyers want his temporary release. They also complain that the government has flooded them with 4 million additional pages of discovery records this week, calling it “fundamentally unfair” to do so so soon before the trial begins in October. The legal counsel has been reported to have established, “Given Mr Bankman-Fried’s extensive and irreplaceable knowledge of the companies in question and the relevant facts, and his resulting ability to locate relevant documents quickly and efficiently, there is no substitute for his work on the defence.”
The attorneys want Bankman-Fried provisionally released or, at the least, be given increased computer access while he is in custody so he can effectively contribute to the development of his defence.
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers said in an official statement, as reported, “Even if Mr. Bankman-Fried were out on bail and had unlimited time to review these documents, it would likely be impossible for him to finish reviewing them by the time of trial. This is yet another example of the government dumping a huge volume of discovery on the defence months after the discovery deadlines that the government represented to the court.”
Another pertinent problem Bankman-Fried has to face daily in his current detention routine, argues the lawyers, is the frequent non-availability of vegan food. The FTX head has to starve himself often because the diet of his choice is not accounted for in the present situation, which all the more justifies his temporary release.
Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail was revoked by Judge Lewis Kaplan last month, who had earlier said the owner would have unrestricted access to the jail for trial preparation. However, according to Bankman-Fried’s solicitors, the preparation so far is insufficient in comparison to what he received while free on bail.
Bankman-Fried’s home detention was ordered to expire earlier this month by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of the Federal District Court in Manhattan, who agreed with the prosecution that the defendant had provided material to reporters to intimidate a witness. That witness, Caroline Ellison, was Bankman-Fried’s former romantic companion and the head of FTX’s sister company Alameda Research. She is anticipated to give false testimony against him at his upcoming trial in early October.
According to Everdell’s memo, the government’s proposal is unsatisfactory and infringes on Mr. Bankman-Fried’s Sixth Amendment rights. It is, therefore, only reasonable that Bankman-Fried’s lawyers want his temporary release. The attorney added, “Nor does it satisfy the Court’s anticipation that Mr Bankman-Fried would have ‘extremely liberal’ access to discovery available ‘nine, ten, eleven, twelve hours a day.'”
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