DoJ continues push to revoke Bankman-Fried's bond, files to federal judge

Department of Justice prosecutors filed a written submission to a federal judge on Friday in efforts to revoke Sam Bankman-Fried's bond after the disgraced FTX founder shared private diaries of former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison with the New York Times.

The written submission follows a Wednesday hearing in a Manhattan federal court, where prosecutor Danielle Sassoon reportedly said "no set of release conditions can ensure the safety of the community."

A week earlier, the DoJ accused Bankman-Friend of leaking Ellison's private diary. Sassoon told the court that Bankman-Friend tried to "intimidate" Ellison and made 100 calls to the NYT reporter.

The DoJ claims Bankman-Fried's sharing of Ellison's diary with the NYT goes beyond his right to defend himself publicly. "What the defendant may not do, and what he has now done repeatedly, is seek to corruptly influence witnesses and interfere with a fair trial through attempted public harassment and shaming," Friday's filing said.

"The defendant's leaking of Ellison's private writings is yet another instance of the defendant trying to intimidate and corruptly persuade Ellison with respect to her upcoming trial testimony, as well as an effort to influence or prevent the testimony of other potential trial witnesses by creating the specter that their most intimate business is at risk of being reported in the press," the filing added.

Bankman-Fried's trial is slated to begin on Oct. 2, 2023.