With the trial date for Sam Bankman-Fried approaching fast, his defense team has voiced new concerns.
In a motion tabled Friday, they detailed the challenging conditions under which Bankman-Fried is preparing his defense.
The motion argues for Bankman-Fried's temporary release. If this is not possible, they're requesting a setup that allows him to meet with his attorneys five days a week.
The defense stresses the client's need to access essential online documents, saying that the disgraced crypto founder is the only one who has complete knowledge of the companies and facts in question.
There is no substitute for his work on the defense, reads the motion.
Bankman-Fried was investing between 80-100 hours weekly and meticulously checking the discovery and regularly updating detailed analyses to liaise with his attorneys, the motion says.
Judge Lewis Kaplan's current directives, however, limit him to a mere six hours of laptop usage daily, for only two days a week, at the 500 Pearl Street courthouse.
He revoked Bankman-Frieds bond earlier this month, based on allegations that he had tampered with witnesses on two separate occasions.
The plea to leave the prison to assist the discovery process stems from several purported technical limitations.
Bankman-Frieds' legal team cites the limited battery life, lack of a power outlet for charging in the cell block, and a frail internet connection that was down for a significant portion of the two sessions.
Bankman-Fried's inability to access his Google Docs, where he had stored previous defense-related work, was also reflected in the report.
The defense team criticized the government's late-stage release of a significant amount of new discovery, questioning the feasibility of examining it before the trial.
The defense counters the government's last-minute release of more than 4 million pages of documents from SBFs Google accounts. Even if he was on bail with an unlimited review time, completing a review before the trial appears impractical.
Under the advice of his defense counsel, he would be able to use an internet-enabled computer for document scrutiny and collaboration. The defense team has commited to overseeing the entire process and ensuring the laptop's security after each session.
In light of these concerns, the judge has appointed the prosecutors to respond to the defense's letter and to another earlier letter outlining one of Bankman-Fried's defense strategies by August 29.
A virtual hearing will be held Wednesday at 1 p.m. in Bankman-Fried's trial, where he is facing seven distinct charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit securities and commodities fraud.
The next trial is slated for March 11, 2024, where he will defend himself against six more charges.
The FTX CEO intends to plead not guilty to all 13 charges.