Court Rejects SBF’s Plea for Release from Prison

The United States Appeals Court has denied disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) latest request for jail release.

“Upon due consideration, it is hereby ORDERED that the motion for release pending trial is DENIED,” the court filing declared.

Court Rejects SBF’s Bid for Jail Release Once More

According to the court filing, there was “probable cause” to believe that SBF committed criminal offenses while on pretrial release previously.

“The record shows that the district court thoroughly considered all of the relevant factors, including the Defendant-Appellant’s course of conduct over time that had required the district court to repeatedly tighten the conditions of release.”

The filing outlines that SBF argued his First Amendment Rights have not been considered. However, the judge denies this is the case. Furthermore, it says it was “exceptionally mindful of the defendant’s First Amendment rights.”

It further explained that SBF allegedly engaged in witness tampering while on pretrial release.

However, it was previously reported that SBF, in an attempt to intimidate his former girlfriend and now a key witness to the prosecution, Caroline Ellison, he released her personal writings to the media.

However, he argues that sharing her personal writings was in an effort to protect his reputation rather than intimidate her.

“It is unclear how a cooperating witness who has promised to testify against a defendant could be meaningfully threatened by nothing but their own statements being published by a reputable newspaper,” SBF lawyers previously declared.

Meanwhile, prior to his trial, SBF persistently sought bail and substantial alterations to his prison conditions. However, some minor adjustments were made by the judge. Meanwhile, a firm stance was predominantly taken against releasing SBF back into the public.

Learn more: FTX Collapse Explained: How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Empire Fell