The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) filed a complaint against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), accusing him of leaking the private papers of Caroline Ellison, who was once his business ally and romantic partner.
In a new complaint filed on July 20, the DoJ accused Bankman-Fried of an attempt to interfere with a fair trial by publicly discrediting Ellison, who became a government witness in SBF’s case in late 2022.
SBF sought to publicly discredit a government witness by sharing her personal writings with a reporter so that those private documents would be featured in an article published by The New York Times on July 20, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams argued in the complaint.
In her diary, Ellison described feeling overwhelmed by her job at Alameda Research, alongside other things like the pain from her romantic break up with SBF and her professional insecurities.
Though the article didn’t indicate who provided the documents to the NYT, it “is apparent” that documents were shared by Bankman-Fried, Williams stated. He wrote:
“When the government learned this week that this article was forthcoming, defense counsel confirmed that the defendant had met with one of the article’s authors in person and had shared documents with him that were not part of the government’s discovery material.”
The attorney went on to say that based on the excerpts in the article, the documents “do not appear to be within the discovery materials in the case, but likely came from the defendant’s personal Google Drive account.”
Williams then wrote that the U.S. federal rules of civil procedure prohibit lawyers and their agents from releasing non-public information that may interfere with a fair trial. As such, the government requests that the court enter an order, pursuant to Local Rule 23.1, which proscribes “extrajudicial statements by parties and witnesses” that are likely to interfere with the right to a fair trial by an impartial jury. Williams added:
“Having the story appear in a reputable newspaper with a worldwide readership without identifying the defendant as the source lends a misleading patina of legitimacy to what would otherwise be naked advocacy, compounding the risk of tainting prospective jurors.”
Cointelegraph reached out to the DoJ and SBF’s defense attorneys but did not get an immediate response. This article will be updated pending new information.
Once a major global cryptocurrency exchange, FTX collapsed in mid-November 2022 in an event likely triggered by the liquidity crisis of the company’s FTT token. Some industry observers also attributed the collapse to the massive bear market of 2022, as well as deeper issues related to the link between FTX and Alameda.
Subsequently, after SBF’s crypto empire imploded, as many as seven lawsuits were filed against him by early December 2022. The former FTX CEO is due in court on Oct. 2 on multiple charges, including fraud, claims of illegal political donations, and bribes to the Chinese government.
Collect this article as an NFT to preserve this moment in history and show your support for independent journalism in the crypto space.
Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has resigned from the Labour Party.
The 53-year-old MP is the first to jump ship since the general election and in her resignation letter criticised the prime minister for accepting thousands of pounds worth of gifts.
She told Sir Keir Starmer the reason for leaving now is “the programme of policies you seem determined to stick to”, despite their unpopularity with the electorate and MPs.
In her letter she accused the prime minister and his top team of “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice” which are “off the scale”.
“I’m so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party,” she said.
Since December 2019, the prime minister received £107,145 in gifts, benefits, and hospitality – a specific category in parliament’s register of MPs’ interests.
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Ms Duffield, who has previously clashed with the prime minister on gender issues, attacked the government for pursuing “cruel and unnecessary” policies as she resigned the Labour whip.
She criticised the decision to keep the two-child benefit cap and means-test the winter fuel payment, and accused the prime minister of “hypocrisy” over his acceptance of free gifts from donors.
“Since the change of government in July, the revelations of hypocrisy have been staggering and increasingly outrageous,” she said.
“I cannot put into words how angry I and my colleagues are at your total lack of understanding about how you have made us all appear.”
Ms Duffield also mentioned the recent “treatment of Diane Abbott”, who said she thought she had been barred from standing by Labour ahead of the general election, before Sir Keir said she would be allowed to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat for the party.
Her relationship with the Labour leadership has long been strained and her decision to quit the party comes after seven other Labour MPs were suspended for rebelling by voting for a motion calling for the two-child benefit cap to be abolished.
“Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses costing more than most of those people can grasp – this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour prime minister,” she said.
Ms Duffield said she will continue to represent her constituents as an independent MP, “guided by my core Labour values”.