SBF demands retrial, accuses federal judge of mocking him

Jailed FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried has requested a new trial, accusing a federal judge of preventing him from mounting a proper defense.

The former CEO’s lawyers argued that “everyone rushed to conclusions” after FTX collapsed and fair trial principles were swept away in a tsunami of “judgment first, judgment later” cases, according to a Friday brief in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York.

"When the government presents evidence, defendants have the right to rebut that evidence and present their case," the defense attorneys wrote. "None of that occurred here."

Bankman-Fried was convicted in November of orchestrating a years-long, multibillion-dollar fraud at FTX, a cryptocurrency empire that collapsed in late 2022. He is serving a 25-year prison sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan.

While defendants often seek to overturn verdicts based on legal errors made by the trial judge, SBF's appeal directly accuses Kaplan of bias. He is seeking to have his case assigned to another judge.

"Many of the judge's rulings were not only wrong, but also unbalanced — repeatedly favoring the government and obstructing the defense," Bankman-Fried's lawyers wrote. "But that's not all. The judge continually ridiculed Bankman-Fried during the trial, repeatedly criticized his demeanor, and expressed disbelief in Bankman-Fried's testimony."

Bankman-Fried's lawyers said the judge "repeatedly ridiculed defense attorneys" and criticized them for asking questions of jurors while "going out of his way to help the government in other ways." They also said he "improperly urged" jurors to reach a quick verdict by inviting them to stay late on the first day of deliberations while offering rides and meals home.