Recently, Sam Bankman-Fried argued that going to jail would violate his “free speech right.” The co-founder of FTX opposed the cancellation of his bond as well. US attorneys requested the court to cancel Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bond last week.
According to Watcher Guru, in December 2022, SBF received a $250 million bail. It was acknowledged that this was the biggest pre-trial bail bond in American history. The bond was also signed by two other “considerable means” individuals.
Detention Raises ‘Serious’ First Amendment Issues, According to SBF’s Attorney
Recently, Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, revealed portions from a diary in an article in the New York Times. Prosecutors accused Bankman-Fried of giving quotations from the journal to the media outlet after the story was published. Additionally, they charged him with speaking with the story’s reporter. According to the prosecutors, this behavior was done in an effort to “intimidate” Ellison. Bankman-Fried’s attorney Mark Cohen argued against the aforementioned claims in a letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan.
“Mr. Bankman-Fried did not seek to intimidate Ms. Ellison or taint the jury pool with his interaction with the New York Times writer. Making a fair comment on an article that was already being written and for which the reporter had additional sources was an appropriate exercise of his rights.
The attorney argued that imprisoning Bankman-Fried because he spoke with a reporter would generate “serious” First Amendment problems. The protection of free speech, the freedom of the press, and other rights are covered under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Choen went on to say,
Criminal defendants have the right to discuss their case with the media in an effort to affect public perception and try to safeguard their reputation, so long as the conversations are not intended to skew the outcome of the case, the government acknowledges.
Since December, Bankman-Fried has been under house arrest. He has spent the majority of his time in his parents’ Palo Alto house. On the other side, Ellison has admitted guilt and is working with the authorities.
