A three-judge panel from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has denied a motion for early release for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, or SBF.
In a Sept. 21 order, Circuit Judges John Walker Jr., Denny Chin, and William Nardini denied SBF’s motion for early release, which his team argued largely was due to First Amendment issues. The ruling said Lewis Kaplan — the judge overseeing SBF’s criminal case — had “correctly determined” that Bankman-Fried’s speech amounted to witness tampering.
“The record shows that the district court thoroughly considered all of the relevant factors, including [Bankman-Fried’s] course of conduct over time that had required the district court to repeatedly tighten the conditions of release,” said the Sept. 21 order. “It also shows that the district court contemplated a less restrictive alternative offered by [SBF] —an order limiting his communications with the press—but reasonably concluded this was not ‘a workable solution longer term.’”
The judges added:
“[T]he district court did not err in concluding that [SBF] had failed to rebut the presumption in favor of detention. We have reviewed [the defense team’s] additional arguments and find them unpersuasive.”
Bankman-Fried previously admitted to releasing former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison’s private journals to a New York Times reporter, resulting in some of its contents being published — an act prosecutors labeled as witness intimidation. SBF’s lawyers also argued for early release from jail on the grounds the lack of consistent Internet access prevented him from preparing an adequate defense for his criminal trial.
The court had been deliberating on the matter following a Sept. 19 hearing in which both the Justice Departure and SBF’s defense team had roughly five minutes to present their cases for the former FTX CEO remaining in jail and early release, respectively. Judge Kaplan revoked SBF’s $250-million bail on Aug. 11, whereupon he was remanded to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
The appellate court ruling was likely one of the last chances for Bankman-Fried to be freed ahead of his first criminal trial, scheduled to begin on Oct. 3 — less than two weeks. His second trial is expected to start in March 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Rishi Sunak has called a general election for 4 July, saying “now is the moment for Britain to choose its future”.
In a statement outside Downing Street delivered in the pouring rain, the prime minister said he had met with the King to request the dissolution of parliament.
Mr Sunak said this is “proof that the plan and priorities I set out are working”.
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However, he said “this hard earned economic stability was only ever meant to be the beginning”.
In a rallying cry to the nation he said: “The question now is how and who do you trust to turn that foundation into a secure future for you, your family and our country?
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Sky’s Beth Rigby explains why inflation and boat crossings may have played a part in the timing of the election
“Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future and to decide whether we want to build on the progress we have made or risk going back to square one. With no plan and no certainty.”
Mr Sunak had to contend with New Labour anthem Things Can Only Get Better being played from beyond the gates to Downing Street as he delivered his speech.
In a sign the election will be fought on the economy, the prime minister opened his remarks by harking back to his days as chancellor during the pandemic, saying he served the country while “the future hung in the balance”.
He said that economic stability is “the bedrock of any future success” and accused Labour of having no plan.
Summer election big gamble for Sunak
By Darren McCaffrey, political correspondent
The prime minister, late, increasingly soaked and being drowned out by protesters, confirmed there will be a July election.
Rishi Sunak’s pitch to voters is essentially better the devil you know, stick with me, I have a plan and Labour has no ideas.
“Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future, to decide whether we want to build on the progress we have made or risk going back to square one with no plan and no certainty” he said.
He is hoping that a relatively long campaign, a focus on security, in what he describes as an uncertain world and his economic record will eat into the enormous poll lead Labour have.
It is interesting there was much less focus on migration and small boats.
Sunak admitted mistakes had been made, accepted they had been in power for 14 years but played on lots of voter’s apathy about what Labour’s plans are for government.
This is undoubtedly a massive gamble for the prime minister, no party has ever come back from such a difficult polling situation, but he hopes under scrutiny Labour and Starmer will crumble.
At the moment, most in Westminster think it’s a gamble that will not pay off.
Let the proper campaign begin.
He finished his statement with an attack on his rival for Number 10, Sir Keir Starmer, saying he has “shown time and time again that he will take the easy way out and do anything to get power”.
“If he was happy to abandon all the promises he made to become Labour leader once he got the job, how can you know that he won’t do exactly the same thing if he were to become prime minister?
“If you don’t have the conviction to stick to anything you say, if you don’t have the courage to tell people what you want to do, and if you don’t have a plan, how can you possibly be trusted to lead our country, especially at this most uncertain of times?”
Delivering his own televised statement from central London, Sir Keir said the election is an “opportunity for change” as he tore into the Tories’ record in government.
He pointed to sewage in rivers, people “waiting on trolleys in A&E”, crime going “virtually unpunished” and mortgages and food prices “through the roof”.
“On 4 July you have a choice, and together we can stop the chaos, we can turn the page, we can start to rebuild Britain and change our country,” he said.
If Sir Keir wins the election, it will end 14 years of Conservative governments under five prime ministers.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey, who is also hoping to make gains the the rural Tory heartlands, said the election is “a chance to kick Rishi Sunak’s appalling Conservative government out of office and deliver the change the public is crying out for”.
What are the rules for calling an election?
Mr Sunak has been saying for months the vote would happen in the “second half of the year” but had refused to set a date.
The assumption was that he would wait until the autumn to give him more time to deliver on his pledges.
However, speculation he could go to the country earlier mounted in Westminster on Wednesday as Cabinet ministers were summoned for an unusually timed meeting, with Defence Secretary Grant Shapps and Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron cutting short trips abroad to attend.
As general elections have to be held every five years, the final day a vote could have taken place was 28 January 2025.
However, the Conservatives in 2019 restored the prime minister’s power to call an election at a time of their choosing within that five years.
The last general election was held in 2019, when Boris Johnson won the Conservatives a landslide over Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party.
Since then, there have been two more prime ministers, Liz Truss and Mr Sunak, and the Conservatives’ 80-seat majority has been reduced by a series of by-election losses while their popularity among voters has plummeted.
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