<\/p>\n
The long-awaited moment finally arrived Friday morning: Sam Bankman-Fried faced the jury for the first time.<\/p>\n
Bankman-Fried opted to speak decidedly slower, make irregular eye contact with the jury box and toe what has emerged as the party line: that there was a lot going on within the FTX empire that he knew nothing about.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bankman-Fried, who faces seven counts of fraud and conspiracy, appeared in federal court Friday in his usual trial ensemble: a mildly-wrinkled, slightly oversized gray suit with a purple tie. His demeanor appeared more cautious than it was on Thursday, where he gave senior judge Lewis Kaplan a preview of what he is now presenting to the jury<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n He sat hunched over slightly on the witness stand and made occasional glances into the jury box but kept his head facing lead defense attorney Mark Cohen, who conducted his direct examination from a podium across the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bankman-Fried maintained what his defense claimed during their opening statements back on Oct. 4: that he did make mistakes, but he was a 25-year-old startup founder (now 31) who put trust in the wrong people.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe sure should have, but no, we did not,\u201d he replied when Cohen asked if FTX and Alameda ever had a risk department.\u00a0<\/p>\n During his opening statement<\/a>, Cohen insisted that his client is being misrepresented by the government. Bankman-Fried, Cohen argued at the time, is simply \u201ca math nerd who didn\u2019t drink or party.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWorking on a startup, or at a startup, is like building a plane while you\u2019re flying it,\u201d Cohen added, referring to FTX and its early days.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bankman-Fried was working constantly \u2014 sometimes logging up to 22 hours a day \u2014 and he was being pulled in every direction, he testified.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSome people shoot for inbox 0,\u201d Bankman-Fried said, referring to many people\u2019s desire to keep their emails in check. \u201cI was shooting for inbox 60,000.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Bankman-Fried\u2019s direct testimony may take the rest of the day Friday, meaning cross-examination could begin Monday. If the government chooses to put on a performance like what Kaplan saw on Thursday, defense will likely go for a redirect exam.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bankman-Fried testified Thursday that, from his understanding, enforcing auto-delete mechanisms in Signal chat was allowed, per a \u201cdocument retention policy\u201d his team is unable to produce to the court.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI wish I had that policy now,\u201d Bankman-Fried said Thursday<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m working off my memory of it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Bankman-Fried had said that anything outside of know-your-customer data, \u201cformal business discussions,\u201d official documents and other company-wide communications, nothing needed to be retained.\u00a0<\/p>\n That said, Sassoon and Bankman-Fried\u2019s definitions of \u201cformal business discussions\u201d appeared to differ. During yesterday\u2019s mock testimony<\/a>, Sassoon asked, for example, if the decision to use customer funds would be considered \u201cformal,\u201d in Bankman-Fried\u2019s opinion.<\/p>\n Counsel on both sides have indicated that we could hear closing arguments as soon as next week. The defense has said that Bankman-Fried will be their third and final witness.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t miss the next big story \u2013 join our\u00a0free daily newsletter<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n