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

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange that collapsed in 2022, has rescinded his request for a retrial, citing concerns that he would not receive a fair hearing. Bankman-Fried, who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for fraud and conspiracy, indicated that he might refile the motion after the outcome of his direct appeal and a related request for reassignment have been determined. The original motion for a new trial was submitted by his mother, Barbara Fried, who claimed that newly discovered evidence warranted a retrial. Bankman-Fried drafted the motion himself while in detention, with minimal assistance, and consulted with his lawyers and family members before submitting it to the judge. He stated that they provided editorial suggestions and helped with printing the document, as he no longer had access to a word processor. A formal request for a new trial, known as a Rule 33 motion, is currently pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where his attorney argued that the initial trial was unfair due to restrictions on the evidence Bankman-Fried could present to the jury.