Here’s what happened today in Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial
From CNN’s Allison Morrow
Updated 5:19 p.m. ET, October 30, 2023
8 hr 35 min ago
Court has adjourned for the day
Court has ended for the day, and Bankman-Fried will be back Tuesday for more cross-examination.
His defense strategy against the government’s questioning has so far leaned heavily on his bad memory.
A full day of cross-examination by prosecutors yielded a lot of vague and equivocal answers from Bankman-Fried, who appeared more agitated and occasionally annoyed on the stand than when his own lawyer questioned him. Variations on “I don’t recall” accounted for most of his replies.
US Assistant Attorney Danielle Sassoon homed in on Bankman-Fried’s past public statements, attempting to show that he was misleading the public about the true nature of his companies’ financial ties.
The entire trial is nearing the finish line, with closing arguments expected later in the week.
Sassoon is expected to wrap up her cross-examination on Tuesday, at which point the defense will redirect.
9 hr 41 min ago
SBF’s answers remain ambiguous
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is questioned during his fraud trial over the collapse of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, at federal court in New York City today.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is questioned during his fraud trial over the collapse of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, at federal court in New York City today. Jane Rosenberg/Reuters
Assistant US Attorney Danielle Sassoon’s pointed cross-examination continued after a break for lunch, in the form of short rapid-fire questions about what Bankman-Fried knew as the head of FTX versus what he stated publicly to reporters and to members of Congress.
Sassoon moved quickly from topic to topic, seeking to poke holes in testimony SBF offered under questioning from his lawyers.
Sassoon: “You called the shots as CEO, didn’t you?”
SBF: “I called some of them.”
Sassoon: “You think you’re a pretty smart guy?”
SBF: “In many ways, not all ways.”
Armed with a litany of documents and audio clips from past interviews Bankman-Fried gave to the media, Sassoon sought to illustrate that FTX’s sister company Alameda Research was not subject to the same trading rules as other accounts on the FTX platform, and that Bankman-Fried hid that privilege from the public.
Bankman-Fried has largely offered vague responses, often stating that he does not recall conversations or statements he made in the past. Judge Lewis Kaplan has at least twice interjected to instruct Bankman-Fried to simply answer yes or no and stop trying to infer Sassoon’s intentions.
“Sir, do you remember saying that in words or in substance?” Kaplan asked the defendant.
After a pause, SBF replied: “Referring to some particular things and time periods, yes.”
13 hr 13 min ago
Sassoon presses SBF on how he promoted FTX
Sassoon is trying to undermine Sam Bankman-Fried’s testimony that he acted in good faith in how he spoke about FTX as safer and more transparent than other exchanges.
She also alluded to Bankman-Fried’s skills as a storyteller who deftly persuaded investors and customers to funnel money into his company. Sassoon is referencing repeated instances of Bankman-Fried publicly touting FTX’s innovative technology and commitment to user safety.
“You were pretty proud that FTX caught on so quickly?” Sassoon asked.
SBF replied: “Yeah, I was.”
13 hr 23 min ago
Who’s asking the tough questions?
美国助理检察官 Danielle Sassoon（沙逊） 正在领导案件对 FTX 创始人 Sam Bankman-Fried 进行盘问。
沙逊曾是大法官安东尼·斯卡利亚 (Antonin Scalia) 的法律助理，她说大法官教她“如何使用手枪和步枪，让我感觉自己有勇气”，她在 2016 年写道。
“他让我脸皮变厚，这是为在男性主导的领域从事职业生涯做好的最好准备。”
沙逊在耶鲁大学获得法律学位，并在哈佛大学获得历史和文学学士学位。
Danielle Sassoon, assistant US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, exits court in New York, on October 5.
Danielle Sassoon, assistant US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, exits court in New York, on October 5. Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg/Getty Images
US Assistant Attorney Danielle Sassoon is leading the government’s cross-examination of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
Sassoon was a law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia, whom she said taught her “how to fire a pistol and a rifle, and made me feel like I had grit,” she wrote in 2016.
“He thickened my skin, which was the best preparation for a career in a male-dominated field.”
Sassoon received her law degree from Yale and has a bachelor’s degree in History and Literature from Harvard.
14 hr 21 min ago
SBF explains notorious tweet that promised FTX was “fine” — before its value plunged from $10 billion to zero
SBF sought to explain a notorious tweet that has been central to the government’s argument that he lied to customers and investors about the state of his companies.
The tweet — which said FTX and its assets were both “fine” — was accurate at the time he posted it on the morning of November 7, he told jurors. But as the market crashed further that evening and into the following morning, “we were risking a solvency crisis, SBF said.
A market downturn meant that assets associated with Alameda “declined massively in value,” SBF said Monday. The approximately 50% crash in Alameda’s assets drove the firm’s net asset value from around $10 billion to a little bit above zero, SBF testified.
At that time, he said, he deleted his earlier tweet.
The government’s first witness in the trial cited that tweet in recounting the reassurances from Bankman-Fried that led him to not withdraw his funds from the platform.
15 hr ago
Ellison offered to resign after acknowledging Alameda was not sufficiently hedged
In this October 10 photo, Caroline Ellison, former chief executive officer of Alameda Research LLC, leaves Manhattan Federal Court after testifying during the trial of FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, in New York City.
In this October 10 photo, Caroline Ellison, former chief executive officer of Alameda Research LLC, leaves Manhattan Federal Court after testifying during the trial of FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Sam Bankman-Fried on Monday recalled a conversation he had with Caroline Ellison, his ex-girlfriend and then-CEO of Alameda Research. He was worried, he said, that if the market decreased another 50% then Alameda would become insolvent.
“She started crying,” he said. “She agreed…that Alameda should have hedged.” He added that she “offered to step down,” which he said was her decision alone.
According to SBF, the two agreed that the “focus should be urgently putting on the hedges” to prevent Alameda from going bankrupt.
Ellison, who pleaded guilty in cooperation with the government, testified earlier that she wanted to quit but that Bankman-Fried told her she was “too important” to Alameda.
16 hr 48 min ago
What prosecutors say
Sam Bankman-Fried watches as Assistant U.S. Attorney Thane Rehn makes his opening remark in Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial over the collapse of FTX, the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, at Federal Court in New York City, on October 4.
Sam Bankman-Fried watches as Assistant U.S. Attorney Thane Rehn makes his opening remark in Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial over the collapse of FTX, the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, at Federal Court in New York City, on October 4. Jane Rosenberg/Reuters
In their opening statements to a newly sworn-in jury in Manhattan federal court on October 4, lawyers laid out previews of their cases, offering two divergent narratives for the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire.
Assistant US Attorney Thane Rehn painted a picture of a villainous, greedy businessman whose boundless appetite for wealth and power led him to steal billions of dollars in customer funds.
“He had wealth, he had power, he had influence,” Rehn said. “But all of that — all of it — was built on lies.”
Rehn reiterated the government’s accusations that Bankman-Fried used his crypto exchange, FTX, as his own personal piggy bank, using the money he took from customers to enrich himself and his family, buy luxury beachfront property in the Bahamas and funnel millions into US political campaigns.
“This man,” Rehn said, pointing to Bankman-Fried a few feet away, “stole billions of dollars from thousands of people.” He repeatedly underscored a central argument: that Bankman-Fried stole, enlisted others to help him steal, lied about stealing, and continued to lie to try as he sought to cover up his crimes.
As Rehn spoke, Bankman-Fried, dressed in a suit and tie and flanked by his attorneys, trained his eyes on a laptop, expressing no reaction to the prosecutor’s allegations. But as his own lawyer, Mark Cohen, stepped up to speak, Bankman-Fried’s demeanor softened and his focus shifted to the jury box.
16 hr 47 min ago
What SBF says
Judge Lewis Kaplan has expressed exasperation with some of Bankman-Fried’s meandering answers, noting at one point: “The witness has what I’ll simply call an interesting way of responding to questions.”
At one point Judge Kaplan interjected, urging SBF to “listen to the question, and answer the question directly.”
For example, when asked whether he thought Alameda was permitted to spend FTX customer deposits, Bankman-Fried replied: “I wouldn’t phrase it that way but I think the answer to the question I think you’re trying to ask is ‘yes.’”
When questioned by his own attorneys, Bankman-Fried appeared confident and upbeat. But he grew increasingly agitated when grilled by prosecutors and appeared to fidget more, nervously sipping water in between answering questions.
In response to questions from Assistant US Attorney Danielle Sassoon, Bankman-Fried said, variously: “I am giving you my best guess at answering the question” and “I am going to answer what I think the question you are asking is, but I apologize if I’m answering the wrong question.”
https://edition.cnn.com/business/live-news/sbf-crypto-fraud-trial-10-30/index.html
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