Analyzing the Decision Not to Plead Guilty in a High-Profile Crypto Case

Lawyer Brian Klein joins the show to explain why Sam Bankman-Fried being locked up makes it “much tougher” for his legal team. This week, the judge presiding over the case said SBF went too far in attempting to intimidate key witnesses – chief among them former Alameda Research co-CEO (and ex-flame) Caroline Ellison. Will a jail cell change SBF’s defiant tune ahead of a hotly anticipated October trial date? Klein weighs in.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Show highlights:

• why the detention of SBF changes the dynamics of the trial preparation
• why Brian believes that the appeal to the detention won’t prevail
• whether these new conditions will lead to a request for a delay of the trial
• whether the fact that SBF is now in jail will make him more interested in a plea deal                
• why both the prosecution and the defense have filed motions to limit allowable evidence and what that means for the trial
• what the short-term future of the trial looks like
• how long a trial like this would take to play out

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Crypto.com
• Arbitrum Foundation
• Thales DAO

Guest

• Brian Klein, partner at Waymaker

Links

• Previous coverage of Unchained on Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX:
• Will FTX Reboot? Here’s John Ray’s Internal Deadline for Making a Decision
• The Chopping Block: Was FTX a Scam From the Very Beginning? 
• How Much Prison Time Is FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried Facing? 
• Why the Legal Process for FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried Could Take Years
• The Chopping Block: SBF Wants to Win in the Court of Public Opinion. Will He?
• Jesse Powell and Kevin Zhou on How FTX and Alameda Lost $10 Billion
• Is the Collapse of Crypto Lending Over, or Is It Just Starting?
• Did the Bahamian Government Direct SBF and Gary Wang to Hack FTX?
• The Chopping Block: Why Lenders Didn’t Liquidate Alameda When It Was Underwater 
• Erik Voorhees and Cobie on Why FTX Loaned Out Customers’ Assets
• The Chopping Block: FTX: The Biggest Collapse in the History of Crypto?
• Sam Bankman-Fried on How to Prevent the Next Terra and 3AC
• Unchained: 
• Sam Bankman-Fried Remanded to Jail Ahead of Fraud Trial
• Prosecutors Move to Include Caroline Ellison’s List of ‘Things Sam is Freaking Out About’ Into Evidence Against FTX Founder
• Prosecutors Allege SBF Used $100 Million User Funds for Campaign Contributions
• The New York Times: Prosecutors Detail Evidence Against Sam Bankman-Fried
• The Block: Former FTX exec Salame to plead the fifth about campaign finance schemes

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