Sam Bankman-Fried Drops Request for New Trial, Citing Concerns Over Fairness

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has retracted his motion for a retrial, expressing doubts about receiving an impartial hearing. In a letter to the presiding judge, Bankman-Fried indicated that he might resubmit the motion after the resolution of his direct appeal and a related request for reassignment. The motion for a new trial, initially filed by his mother, Barbara Fried, cited newly discovered evidence as grounds for a retrial. Bankman-Fried, currently serving a 25-year sentence for fraud and conspiracy, claimed to have drafted the motion himself with limited assistance while in detention. Although he consulted with his lawyers and family, he maintained that he was the primary author of the letter to the judge. The appeal, now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, argues that the original trial was fundamentally unfair, with restrictions on the evidence Bankman-Fried could present to the jury.