Sam Bankman-Fried Trial: Recap, Legal Analysis, and What’s to Come

cryptonews.com:

The landmark fraud trial against Sam Bankman-Fried came to a swift end Thursday night as the jury found him guilty on all counts after mere hours of deliberation.

Bankman-Fried’s parents broke down as the jury revealed their decision, while the defendant stood motionless facing the jury.

The disgraced FTX founder’s guilty verdict follows an intensive month-long trial which saw his former girlfriend, friends and roommates take the stand against him.

“It was a very well-tried case by the government,” says former U.S. Assistant Attorney Kevin J. O’Brien. “The evidence was substantial… They had four cooperators from inside the company testifying that he was in charge and made all the key decisions.”

Originally slated to last for six weeks, the trial lasted around a month thanks to the prosecution reducing their arguments, which O’Brien calls “smart.”

“More importantly, from a juror’s point of view, you’ve got to understand what it’s like being a juror,” said O’ Brien. “They want to be home and enjoy their family again.”

“They kept it moving with a kind of rhythm,” O’Brien said of the prosecution. “They projected this air of confidence from the very beginning, and that is very appealing to the jury.”

Judge Kaplan, who had to encourage Bankman-Fried to answer questions directly numerous times throughout his testimony, “abetted” the government’s swiftness.

“He wouldn’t let the defense ask a lot of repetitive questions,” said O’Brien.

O’Brien notes that while the defense attempted to present seven witnesses originally, Judge Kaplan approved a request from the prosecution to block them all.

“The job of the defense lawyer is not to present a case. His job is to whittle away at the government’s case to create reasonable doubt,” said