Sam Bankman-Fried withdraws new trial motion for now, says he won’t get ‘fair hearing’ from judge
Sam Bankman-Fried withdrew his motion for a new trial, citing concerns about a fair hearing from Judge Lewis Kaplan.Summary
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has withdrawn his motion for a new trial, stating in a letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan that he does not believe he will receive a "fair hearing" on the matter. Bankman-Fried explained that his focus had shifted to responding to the judge's questions about the motion, rather than drafting a counter-argument to the prosecution's opposition. He intends to potentially renew the motion after his direct appeal and a related request for reassignment have been decided. The motion for a new trial was initially filed by Bankman-Fried's mother in March, on behalf of her son, who was convicted in November 2023 on all seven counts of defrauding FTX's customers, lenders, and investors. He was subsequently sentenced to 25 years in prison. Bankman-Fried claims he conceived and drafted the motion himself while in prison, with only editorial suggestions from his parents and limited input from a former attorney.
(Source：The Block)