Campaign Contribution Accusations Against SBF Back on Track

On the 14th of August, the prosecution in SBF’s ongoing court case produced the longest and most explicit list of charges so far.

The document is 70 pages long and names legal precedents for most of the charges brought against him. However, special attention is given to the accusation of illegal political campaign contributions.

It wasn’t too long ago that Bankman-Fried was requesting the dismissal of the contribution charge, among others. Unfortunately for the defense, the document shows that the prosecution plans to revive the charges based on new evidence garnered during the discovery period.

Things Sam Is Freaking Out About

A highly important part of the prosecution’s strategy is the use of Caroline Ellison’s personal notes and archives, which include a list named “Things Sam Is Freaking Out About,” as reported by the New York Times.

These archives were virulently attacked by the defense, who labeled them as hearsay. However, the prosecution argues that Ellison’s notes are admissible evidence. In their opinion, the notes were not organized systematically due to any personal quirk. Instead, they were used to help keep track of the FTX C-suite’s off-the-books dealings, making her notes more akin to a secret ledger than a personal diary.

“Ellison’s personal notes and to-do lists include entries such as a list titled “Things Sam is Freaking Out About,” which delineates Ellison’s understanding, from conversations with the defendant, of what remained the defendant’s top business concerns, such as Alameda’s trading hedges, bad press about the relationship between Alameda and FTX, and fundraising. […]

Keeping track of Alameda’s finances and objectives clearly constitutes a statement “designed to promote or facilitate achievement of the goals of [the] conspiracy.”

Breach of Campaign Donation Law

The 70-page document also outlines the prosecution’s intent to use text messages to and from members of FTX’s C-Suite as evidence of a breach of political campaign donation law.

This accusation primarily centers on using Nishad Singh and Ryan Salame to donate funds to both sides of Congress on behalf of SBF.

Among the text messages cited as evidence is one sent by Salame to a relative of his, stating that SBF was donating to “weed out anti-crypto dems for pro-crypto dems and anti-crypto repubs for pro-crypto repubs” and stating that SBF would route money through him to erase that republican side.

However, Ryan Salame – who is facing his own set of accusations regarding violations of campaign finance law – will not be available as a witness in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried, choosing to plead the 5th amendment instead in a bid to not incriminate himself.

From the US government’s motion in limine in the Sam Bankman-Fried criminal trial: “[Ryan] Salame is unavailable as a witness… Salame’s attorney has represented that if subpoenaed, Salame would invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.” pic.twitter.com/NrB5d6PJDH

— Molly White (@molly0xFFF) August 15, 2023

Over $24 million were donated by Ryan Salame to representatives of the Republican Party – and the accusations seem to indicate that none of it was out of his own pocket.