Sam Bankman-Fried Takes the Stand – In a Preview for the Judge – Testimony is Risky Last Ditch Effort to Avoid Decades-Long Sentencing | The Gateway Pundit

The high-profile trial of Sam Bankman-Fried has moved to a brand new section because the prosecution rests and his protection will get to place forth their very own case and name their very own witnesses.

And proper on the primary day, SBF has taken the stand to testify in his personal protection however, in an uncommon resolution, it was, at first, with out the jury current.

Decide Lewis Kaplan stated a ‘variety of areas of potential testimony’ have been flagged by the prosecution and he stated the jury mustn’t hear it earlier than he has an opportunity to rule on it. As soon as the Decide decides, the jury can be introduced again in.

One of many points offers with Sign app channels. Earlier within the trial, the courtroom heard that Bankman-Fried was the one who set the app to auto-delete messages.

In his Decide-only testimony, Bankman-Fried stated that he was performing inside ‘FTX’s doc retention coverage’ when he did so.

Daily Mail reported:

“He stated: ‘As a basic matter these weren’t channels the place there can be formal enterprise information. They weren’t channels during which selections can be introduced or enacted or paperwork related to regulatory inquiries have been supposed to be mentioned’.

Bankman-Fried stated it was for ‘chatter’ and conversations which he likened to ‘somebody wandering over to my desk’ and asking him in the event that they ‘have any ideas in regards to the Japanese regulatory surroundings proper now’.”

The crypto bro is predicted to assert that he was taking recommendation from his attorneys and that there was ‘nothing improper’ about FTX’s funds.

It implies that he claims he believed having FTX prospects deposit cash in Alameda was permitted, due to fee agreements he had signed.

“He informed the courtroom that it took a ‘couple of years’ for FTX to get its personal financial institution accounts and earlier than then prospects despatched their cash to Alameda and it appeared of their FTX wallets. Asking about FTX’s phrases of service, Bankman-Fried stated he believed he was managing the corporate inside these phrases.

Bankman-Fried’s lawyer Mark Cohen requested him: ‘Did you’re taking consolation from the actual fact the attorneys had structured the loans?’ ‘Yeah in fact’, stated Bankman-Fried.”

Decide Kaplan’s resolution to listen to him outdoors the jury’s presence got here after prosecutors completed presenting their case that Bankman-Fried steal billions of {dollars} from prospects.

Reuters reported:

“The prosecution rested its case after presenting 12 days of testimony in federal courtroom in Manhattan during which former shut FTX colleagues informed the jury he directed them to divert buyer funds to his hedge fund and misinform buyers and lenders.”

Protection attorneys argue that his former colleagues-turned-cooperating-witnesses ‘tailor-made their testimony to implicate Bankman-Fried within the hopes of receiving lenient sentences.’

“Protection lawyer Mark Cohen stated Bankman-Fried’s direct testimony may final shut to 5 hours, earlier than prosecutors get an opportunity to cross-examine him.”

SBF’s testimony is a last-ditch effort by the protection.  His shut private collaborators and buddies testified that he ‘knowingly commingled fund from FTX prospects with Alameda Analysis’s investments.’

The testimony can also be fairly dangerous for him, because it opens him up for cross-examination from prosecutors. Moreover, the choose may lengthen his sentence if he’s caught mendacity on the stand.

Learn extra about SBF:

Sam Bankman-Fried Trial: Prosecution Is Landing Its Blows With Testimony From His Inner Circle – Key Witness, Alameda CEO Ellison, Expected to Testify Tuesday

Sam Bankman-Fried Trial: Prosecution Is Landing Its Blows With Testimony From His Inner Circle – Key Witness, Alameda CEO Ellison, Expected to Testify Tuesday

Sam Bankman-Fried Trial: Prosecution Is Landing Its Blows With Testimony From His Inner Circle – Key Witness, Alameda CEO Ellison, Expected to Testify Tuesday