The New York Times has submitted a filing in the criminal case against former FTX CEO Sam \u201cSBF\u201d Bankman-Fried, arguing the court should defend First Amendment rights by allowing certain parties to provide information to members of the media.<\/p>\n
In an Aug. 2 letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, NYT vice president and deputy general counsel David McCraw expressed concerns about the gag order placed upon Bankman-Fried and what participants in his criminal trial were allowed to say to journalists. On July 20, The New York Times published an article revealing details of former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison\u2019s private journals, including her professional and personal relationship with SBF.<\/p>\n
McCraw argued that since Bankman-Fried was a \u201cnon-lawyer,\u201d the standard for imposing a gag order aimed at preventing harm to other parties connected to the criminal case was stricter than for lawyers. As Judge Kaplan removed language from the order, suggesting it wasn\u2019t necessary to prevent \u201cinterfer[ing] with a fair trial,\u201d the NYT claimed the public and members of the Fourth Estate had a right to receive information according to the First Amendment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the current round of motion practice was prompted by a Times article about Caroline Ellison, and the Government argues that the article was part of Defendant\u2019s effort to interfere with the trial, that overlooks the public\u2019s legitimate interest\u2014independent of this prosecution\u2014in Ms. Ellison and her activities at her cryptocurrency trading firm,\u201d said McCraw. \u201cShe has confessed to being a central participant in a financial scheme that defrauded investors of billions of dollars\u2014a scheme that was not detected by government regulators and law enforcement agencies until the public\u2019s money had disappeared.\u201d <\/p>\n
He added:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not surprising that the public wants to know more about who she is and what she did and that news organizations would seek to provide to the public timely, pertinent, and fairly reported information about her.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Lawyers for Bankman-Fried turned over documents connected to the NYT interview \u2014 seemingly including Ellison\u2019s journals \u2014 to the court on July 27. The judge in SBF\u2019s criminal case could reach a decision on Aug. 3 as prosecutors push to have his $250-million bail revoked, claiming the interview was intended to intimidate Ellison and affect her testimony.<\/p>\n