Transcript Ep. 557: Why These Lawyers Say It’s Over for SBF–But His Only Hail Mary Is to Testify

Attorneys Samson Enzer and Greg Strong say Caroline Ellison’s testimony against Sam Bankman-Fried was damning. They agree one thing could turn it around: SBF’s own testimony. However, that runs the ri

Sam Enzer:

I have a different take on this one. I think that the government did not need this testimony, that they have better points to make that are directly related to the crime. 404(b) evidence is very risky from an appellate perspective. The court of appeals wants to make sure the defendant gets a fair trial and that their jury is not prejudiced by evidence of things that are not charged. Now look, I think that the evidence here is overwhelming. I don't think there's actually a risk of a reversal. But when you... Part of trying a good case when you're the government or a defense, but more... Especially when you're in the government, is to protect your advantage and not get ahead of your skis and take risks you don't need to take.

Laura Shin:

Hi, everyone. Welcome to Unchained, your no-hype resource for all things crypto. I'm your host, Laura Shin, author of The Cryptopians. I started covering crypto eight years ago and as a senior editor at Forbes was the first mainstream media reporter to cover cryptocurrency full-time. This is the October 16th, 2023 episode of Unchained.

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Today's topic is the second week in the criminal trial against Sam Bankman-Fried. Here to discuss are Sam Enzer, partner at Cahill Gordon and Reindel, and Greg Strong, partner at DLx Law. Welcome, Sam and Greg.

Sam Enzer:

Thanks for having us, Laura.

Greg Strong:

Yeah, thanks very much, Laura.

Laura Shin:

So we've now had two weeks in the criminal trial for Sam Bankman-Fried. This week was a doozy because two of the government's biggest witnesses testified. I've seen people tweeting things like, for instance, that it's just over for Sam. But I was curious from the lawyer's perspective, what do you think is the state of the trial at this point?

Sam Enzer: