Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and his lawyers had requested that he be released on weekdays. However, following the rejection of that request, SBF’s lawyers have once again written to the court, making a different request this time around.
Sam Bankman-Fried Comes For The Government
According to an electronically filed letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan, the judge in charge of SBF’s case, SBF’s lawyers are asking that the Government be precluded from using certain evidence when trial commences on October 2.
The letter, signed by Everdell, stated that the Government had produced “an additional 4 million pages of discovery” on August 24, which they object to.
Discovery refers to the information which both parties present to each other before the trial commences. It includes evidence and witnesses, which both sides intend to lay before the court, and this is done to avoid either party springing up a surprise on the other.
In SBF’s case, his lawyers contend that he doesn’t have enough time and resources to review the large volume of documents adequately. As such, the prosecutors should be precluded from relying on these documents (which they just produced) when the trial, which is less than six weeks away, commences.
They assert that SBF cannot finish reviewing the documents before October 2, even if he is out on bail and has unlimited time.
Lawyers Still Asking For Release For FTX Founder
Besides their request to preclude some of the evidence against Sam Bankman-Fried, his lawyers also request that he be produced at the courthouse on weekdays, where they can provide him with an internet-enabled device to “review, edit, and share documents and work product with his attorneys.”
This request is based on the premise that the Government has already “produced millions of pages of documents and terabytes of data in discovery” for SBF to analyze. According to them, only their client can review these documents as he has “extensive and irreplaceable knowledge” of the facts in question.
The Government had previously agreed to produce him at the courthouse twice a week from 9 AM to 3 PM and provide him with an internet-enabled device to review the discovery. However, the lawyers believe this is insufficient.
They referenced when SBF was on bail and stated that he had spent “80-100 hours” weekly reviewing the “voluminous discovery” and highlighting certain parts that could be useful to his defense. The letter further cited when the FTX founder built a spreadsheet with “millions of cells of data” drawn from the discovery material, which can only be accessed with an internet connection.
Therefore, compared to when he was on bail, SBF’s lawyers believe that he cannot work effectively with the Government’s current discovery plan and will need more time weekly.
SBF is being charged with seven counts of fraud-related charges and faces up to several years imprisonment if found guilty of these charges.
Meanwhile, the Prosecutors have already charged the jury in SBF’s upcoming trial that these charges should be dealt with separately, with a verdict given on each.