Prosecutors said last week that Bankman-Fried, 31, had attempted to discredit their star witness, Caroline Ellison, who is expected to testify against Bankman-Fried at his trial in October. US District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan was expected to rule on a so-called gag order that would prevent Bankman-Fried from discussing his case publicly. At a previous bail hearing, Kaplan alluded to the possibility of revoking Bankman-Fried’s bail deal and forcing him to await trial in jail.
Since his arrest, Bankman-Fried has ignored the standard legal advice of remaining silent in the run-up to trial, frequently speaking to the media and blogging about his experience. While his lawyers said they would comply with any gag order, they pushed back on prosecutors’ allegations of witness-tampering. In a letter to Kaplan, they argue that Bankman-Fried has a constitutional right to speak to the press, and he did so without violating the conditions of his bail agreement.