Sam Bankman-Fried Granted 6.5-Hour Temporary Leave From Jail

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) now has the approval from a US judge to meet with his lawyers for a once-off period equivalent to a school day.

The Judge also permits his lawyers to have internet access during the meeting.

Stringent Requirements Imposed On SBF

An Aug. 21 court filing reveals that US District Court Judge, Lewis Kaplan, has allowed SBF to meet his lawyers outside his jail cell.

“The request is granted to the extent that the Marshall shall make the defendant available to meet with counsel in the Marshal’s cell block attorney room,” the filing states.

The filing indicates that Bankman-Fried will be able to meet his lawyers during limited hours, roughly 8:30 am to 3 pm.

Kaplan also permits SBF’s lawyers to bring “one internet-enabled laptop and one WiFi device into the courthouse” into the meeting.

On August 11, authorities placed SBF in jail . However, he has been on house arrest in his parents’ house since December 2022. He has been under strict internet access restrictions while on house arrest. Reports from April 6 reveal that he had limited time to seek a new mobile phone for himself, devoid of internet access. Additionally, his laptop could only access websites pre-approved by US prosecutors in a prior submission.

The filing also declares that SBF’s lawyer’s requests for any other matters have been declined at this point in time. “The balance of the request for August 22 is denied,” it notes.

This comes after SBF’s lawyers requested for him to spend weekdays out of jail. They argued that this will allow him to collaborate with his defense team ahead of his trial.

These claims arose in preparation for his defense trial scheduled in October.

On the same day, in separate court documents, US prosecutors provided guidelines on how the jury should approach the upcoming trial.

The jury receives information that an indictment has been brought against SBF, which constitutes an allegation rather than evidence.

It highlights the importance for jurors to individually assess each of the seven charges. It also asks that the jury avoid letting their verdict on one charge influence their judgement on any of the remaining six charges.

SBF’s Witness Tampering Landed Him Back In Prison

After reports of SBF engaging in witness tampering emerged, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) urged the court to revoke SBF’s bail conditions and incarcerate him.

The witness tampering was towards his former girlfriend, Caroline Ellison. SBF leaked the private journals of Ellison to the New York Times.

In a court filing on July 28, the DOJ claimed that SBF leaked the information to intimidate Ellison. Ellison formerly led the trading company Alameda Research before FTX’s collapse. She now holds a crucial role as a key witness for the prosecution. The filing stated:

“The defendant’s leaking of Ellison’s private writings is yet another instance of the defendant trying to intimidate and corruptly persuade Ellison with respect to her upcoming trial testimony.”