U.S. Government Strikes Bankman-Fried and Lawyers with 4 Million Pages of Documents
Date: 2023-08-26 Author: Karina Ziganova Categories: BUSINESS, IN WORLD
According to lawyers for former FTX CEO Sam-Bankman Freed on Aug. 25, U.S. Attorney's Office has just unloaded a huge amount of discovery documents.
In the related lawsuit, lawyers generally objected to the government's intention to open up access to the materials of the investigation, that is, to evidence and legal information, while Bankman-Fried is being held at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC).
Lawyers stressed that the amount of information is a problem, stating:
“We also object to the government releasing another 4 million pages of discoveries just yesterday. The government cannot be allowed to dump millions of pages of defense in less than six weeks before the trial."
Elsewhere in the filing, the lawyers said the discovery amounted to terabytes of data to date, adding that millions of additional pages would be coming soon.
Bankman-Fried's lawyers also complained that the government had no plans to deliver the discovery papers to their client at MDC, despite the rapidly approaching trial date. Thus, the lawyers urged the court to grant Bankman-Fried access to the Internet. They said the current plans, which allow Bankman-Fried to meet with lawyers twice a week, are not sufficient to carry out the necessary data analysis.
"No Replacement"
The lawyers argued that "nothing can replace" Bankman-Fried's work on the case, arguing that their client has extensive knowledge of the companies involved in the events and has a unique ability to locate relevant documents "quickly and efficiently". Although Bankman-Fried was provided with a laptop, lawyers said the device had limited internet access and prevented him from collaborating with lawyers or accessing his previous work.
Lawyers for Bankman-Fried also noted that their client had previously compiled specific data into a spreadsheet with millions of cells. They said he spent 80 to 100 hours a week studying the discoveries prior to his imprisonment.
In light of the situation, lawyers have called for Bankman-Fried's temporary release, which would allow the former FTX CEO to work with the defense and access the Internet five days a week in a dedicated courthouse workspace.
Lawyers have been pushing for these release conditions since at least 18 August.
