Transcript Ep. 566: A 20+ Year Sentence? Why the Evidence Against SBF Was Too Hard to Overcome

A defense lawyer and a former prosecutor discuss what SBF’s likely sentence will be, the defense’s hope for an appeal, and whether the government will pursue the second trial.

Sam Enzer:

One of the reasons why cross is done live, why witnesses appear in court is demeanor, so that the jury can evaluate their demeanor. And you saw stark contrast between the cross and the direct in two respects. One, on the direct, when Bankman-Fried was going to cast blame on somebody else or contextualize himself as a good actor or as somebody who had good intentions, he had command of very specific details, sometimes from conversations many years ago. But all of a sudden, when he's being confronted by Danielle Sassoon in a setting where he is in danger, in jeopardy, and being forced, confronted with things that hurt his argument, hurt his case, suddenly he doesn't recall. And he didn't recall a lot. And jurors know it is common lore that I don't recall is the liar's answer.

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 November 7th, 2023 episode of Unchained. 

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Today's topic is the verdict in the trial of FTX co-founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. Here to discuss are Sam Enzer, partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel, and Rich Cooper, a former prosecutor with the Southern District of New York. Welcome, Sam and Rich.

Sam Enzer:

Hey, Laura, thanks for having us on, and Rich, it's great to see you.

Rich Cooper:

You too, Sam, thanks very much, Laura.

Laura Shin:

This was a four-day week in the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, but it was packed with action, and it ended in a short deliberation by the jury, giving a verdict that he was guilty on all seven counts. However, before we jump to the verdict and all the post-trial questions, let's unpack the cross-examination, which began Monday morning and went into Tuesday. What did you think about how that went for SBF? And Rich, do you wanna start?

Rich Cooper: