By
Godfrey Benjamin
May 10th, 2024
According to the lawyers, there seems to be a deliberate attempt by the media to vilify Sam Bankman-Fried.
The former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), who is currently on trial in a criminal case, has agreed to a “gag order” by the court. By provision, the gag order prevents SBF from making any public comments that may affect his trial or influence the ruling.
The US government had requested the gag order after SBF recently made some snide comments about his former business associate and witness Caroline Ellison. That was in an interview with the New York Times.
However, the US government saw that move as an attempt to sway the ongoing trial, hence the reason for the request.
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Accepts but Files Counter-Demand
According to a letter dated July 22, it appears that SBF has now agreed to the gag order. The letter was addressed to the United States District Court Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of New York and submitted through Bankman-Fried’s lawyers Cohen & Gresser LLP.
And though his lawyers denied the initial allegations against SBF, they have accepted the request.
Interestingly, however, the letter also seeks to have the same gag order extended to all potential witnesses in the case. And that includes current FTX CEO John Ray. An excerpt from the letter reads:
“We respectfully request that any such relief, however, should apply not just to Mr. Bankman-Fried, but equally to all ‘parties and witnesses’ – namely, the Government and all potential witnesses in this case.”
According to the lawyers, there seems to be a deliberate attempt by the media to vilify Sam Bankman-Fried. And at the center of that smear campaign is the current CEO of the FTX Debtor entities, John J. Ray III.
SBF’s lawyers claim that John Ray has continued to attack their client in his public comments and filings in the FTX bankruptcy proceedings. And these attacks, per the lawyers, do not in any way contribute to recovering any assets for FTX creditors.
So, for it not to amount to double standards on the part of the US government, the law firm now seeks the same gag order for all parties.
The trial for SBF’s fraud charges will begin on October 3.