Unchained: Why SBF's Testimony So Far Has Likely Already Doomed Him

Defense lawyer Sam Enzer says Sam Bankman-Fried’s testimony had evasive answers and non-sequiturs—but that the defense may now have a good argument for appeal.

Sam Enzer, a partner at the law firm Cahill Gordon & Reindel, told Laura that former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried did about as well as he could in his testimony Friday but that he was unlikely “to withstand the scrutiny” of what prosecutors have already said will be a robust cross-examination when he takes the stand Monday. 

Enzer noted that Bankman-Fried’s attempts to explain why he thought his trading shop, Alameda Research, could borrow billions in dollars of FTX customer assets “defies common sense,” and that the company’s own terms of agreement or any other communications offered no justification for this belief. A Thursday hearing without the jury present, in which the defense gave a preview of some arguments it wanted to make, ended up giving the government answers from SBF that it can now use against him. Enzer also said that Bankman-Fried’s contention that his biggest mistake – a failure to implement proper risk management – did not constitute criminal fraud, did not address the core of the government’s case; namely, that he lied about how FTX was handling customer deposits. 

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Show highlights:

Why Enzer thinks Sam Bankman-Fried’s testimony is unlikely to sway jury sentiment or withstand cross-examinationWhy the evidentiary hearing in which SBF testified without a jury may hurt his causeThe purpose of the evidentiary hearingHow Judge Lewis Kaplan hinted at what he thought about SBF’s testimonyHow Bankman-Fried is likely to fare against prosecutor Danielle Sassoon in what she has promised will be a robust cross-examinationHow the defense tried to recast SBF’s image by humanizing himWhy the defense now has stronger grounds for an appeal than it previously did What the jury is likely to make of SBF’s contention that he was in the dark about core allegations Why the prosecution said it would call rebuttal witnessesWhat a charge conference is and why that will take place after SBF testifies

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Guest | 

Sam Enzer, partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel.

Previous appearances on Unchained: 

Another Bad Week for Sam Bankman-Fried in His Criminal Trial – Ep. 558

Why These Lawyers Say It's Over for SBF-But His Only Hail Mary Is to Testify

SBF Trial: How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Might Try and Win His Case

SBF’s Lawyers Could Be Annoying the Judge. How Might That Impact the Trial?

Links | 

Previous coverage by Unchained on the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried:

How Heated Sidebars During the SBF Trial Could Impact the Jury’s Decision

SBF Trial, Day 1: Possible Witnesses Include FTX Insiders, Big Names in Crypto, and SBF’s Family

SBF Trial, Day 2: DOJ Says Sam Bankman-Fried ‘Lied’ While Defense Claims His Actions Were ‘Reasonable’

SBF Trial, Day 3: Why a True Believer in FTX Flipped Once He Learned One Fact

SBF Trial, Day 4: SBF’s Lawyers Annoy Judge Kaplan, While Wang Reveals Alameda’s Special Privileges

Sam Bankman-Fried Trial: Here's Everything That Happened So Far

SBF Trial, Day 5: SBF's Defense Finally Found Its Legs, But Can It Counter Caroline Ellison?

SBF Trial, Day 6: Caroline Ellison Recalls 'The Worst Week of My Life'

SBF Trial, Day 7: In SBF Trial, Did the Defense Lose Its Opportunity With the Star Witness?

SBF Trial, Day 8: Former BlockFi CEO Adds Credibility to Fraud Charges 

SBF Trial, Day 9: Nishad Singh Describes Former FTX CEO as a Bully and Big Spender

SBF Trial, Day 10: Defense Struggles to Discredit Nishad Singh's Testimony

SBF Trial, Day 11: How Alameda Got FTX Into a $9 Billion Hole

SBF Trial, Day 12: Former FTX General Counsel Speaks Out Against SBF

SBF Trial, Day 13: Before Judge, Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Gives Few Straight Answers

SBF Trial, Day 14: Sam Bankman-Fried Casts Blame on Others for Key Decisions at FTX

Did Sam Bankman-Fried Have Intent to Defraud FTX Investors?

Good Morning America: FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried on crypto giant's collapse: 'A lot of people got hurt. And that's on me'

Unchained Podcast is Produced by Laura Shin Media, LLC. Distributed by CoinDesk. Senior Producer is Michele Musso and Executive Producer is Jared Schwartz. 

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