FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) testified on October 26, providing insight into the defense’s line of argument. During his testimony, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers focused on a specific document that could potentially exonerate him. The document in question is the ‘Document Retention Policy,’ which was created by the law firm Fenwick and West, specifically Dan Friedman.
Why This FTX Document Is So Important
The defense is relying on the policy to justify why certain correspondence between Bankman-Fried and his former associates was on auto-delete. Bankman-Fried explained that informal conversations on Signal were set to auto-delete in line with the policy. He emphasized that encryption was crucial due to previous hacking incidents and to prevent data leaks or employees selling information to competitors.
Bankman-Fried believes he acted in accordance with the policy since Signal conversations were informal and didn’t involve formal company decisions. However, his lawyers mentioned that they haven’t been able to access the document as Fenwick and West has not produced it without a subpoena.
Maybe Getting Sam Bankman-Fried To Testify Was A Mistake
There was an argument that Bankman-Fried should testify in his case to counter the prosecution’s evidence. However, his testimony may have done more harm than good. During cross-examination, Bankman-Fried appeared to lose composure and provided vague answers, often saying he wasn’t entirely sure or couldn’t recall specific details.
Hot Take: The Defense’s Reliance on the Document Retention Policy
The defense in Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial is heavily relying on the Document Retention Policy to justify the auto-deletion of correspondence between Bankman-Fried and his former associates. This policy, created by Fenwick and West, is expected to play a crucial role in exonerating the defendant.
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