The post Sam Bankman-Fried’s defense seems to hinge on a document his team can’t find appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Sam Bankman-Fried took the stand for the first time Thursday afternoon in Manhattan, but he didn’t have to answer to the jury just yet.  The dress rehearsal gave the public a glimpse into the defense’s case, which appears to rely on one document they cannot actually produce: an alleged “document retention policy” attorneys apparently drafted for Alameda and FTX.  Senior Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered a hearing Thursday afternoon, opting to dismiss the jury early to privately hear direct testimony from Bankman-Fried, plus a cross examination from the prosecution.  The purpose was for Kaplan to decide what he will allow the parties to repeat in front of the jury Friday.  The defense strategy was clear: Establish that Bankman-Fried acted on the advice of his attorneys at the time, including following their advice to not retain certain information. The only problem? The “document retention policy” Bankman-Fried said former FTX chief regulatory officer Dan Friedberg crafted with outside counsel is nowhere to be found.  “We have been unable to serve the subpoenas asking for it,” Bankman-Fried testified when lead prosecutor Danielle Sassoon asked where the policy was.  Right before court adjourned for the day, the prosecution told Kaplan that they would oppose Bankman-Fried repeating this particular point in front of the jury. Kaplan clarified that if Bankman-Fried brought up the previously rejected subpoenas in open court, the judge would tell the jury about the defense’s chance to apply for a trial subpoena. Bankman-Fried testified that, from his understanding, enforcing auto-delete mechanisms in Signal chat was allowed. Though he added that he is unsure if Signal was actually mentioned by name in the policy. “I wish I had that policy now,” Bankman-Fried said. “I’m working off my memory of it.”  Bankman-Fried said that anything outside of know-your-customer data, “formal business discussions,” official documents and…

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Filed under: News - @ October 27, 2023 1:14 pm