A federal judge is considering a proposed order that would prohibit[s]…parties and witnesses in the FTX case from speaking to the media, according to court filings. This comes after the U.S. Department of Justice alleged that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaked private documents from one of his co-conspirators to the press. The DOJ claims Bankman-Fried shared former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison’s private diary to obstruct a fair trial. Bankman-Fried’s lawyers denied these accusations in a letter to the judge on Sunday, stating, Mr. Bankman-Fried did nothing wrong.
The proposed order would restrict the parties and their attorneys from publicly disseminating or discussing with any public communications media anything about the case which could interfere with a fair trial, including statements about the identity, testimony, or credibility of prospective witnesses, information that has not been deemed admissible at trial, and statements intended to influence public opinion regarding the merits of this case.
If the order is approved, it could threaten the conditions of Bankman-Fried’s bail, which up until now have been relatively loose. He is living at his parents’ house in Palo Alto, California in the run-up to his trial. The court has restricted his use of technology, but has granted exceptions permitting him to access certain websites, including CoinDesk. Judge Kaplan has previously remarked on the relaxed nature of Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions and threatened revocation proceedings against him if he continues to violate his bail conditions, saying, I want [the bail conditions] to be tight.