TLDR
- Sam Bankman-Fried withdrew his Rule 33 motion without prejudice in New York court.
- He said he did not expect a fair hearing from Judge Lewis Kaplan on the motion.
- Bankman-Fried said he drafted the filing in prison and shared drafts with his parents.
- He kept open the option to renew the motion after his direct appeal is decided.
- The former FTX CEO is serving a 25-year sentence after his 2023 conviction.
Sam Bankman-Fried has withdrawn his motion for a new trial for now. He said he does not expect a fair hearing from Judge Lewis Kaplan.
The former FTX CEO filed the request in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He said he may renew it after his direct appeal and reassignment request are decided.
Bankman-Fried withdraws Rule 33 motion for now
Bankman-Fried asked to withdraw his Rule 33 motion without prejudice. That means he can bring it again later. He said the court’s questions shifted his focus away from answering prosecutors.
In his filing, he wrote, “As I have had to focus on responding to these questions rather than drafting a response to the prosecution’s opposition.” He then said he did not believe he would get “a fair hearing” before Kaplan.
The withdrawal does not end his wider legal fight. His direct appeal is still pending. A separate request to move the case to another judge also remains active.
Court questions and claim of bias
Kaplan had asked Bankman-Fried to explain whether he received legal help on the motion. Prosecutors had argued that the filing may not have been prepared by him alone.
Bankman-Fried said he conceived the motion and drafted versions while in prison in Brooklyn. He also said he carried out much of the legal research himself.
He wrote, “They made editorial and organizational suggestions, some of which I incorporated into the motion.” He said his parents helped print the filing because he no longer had access to a word processor.
He also said he shared earlier drafts with a New York lawyer once hired for the matter. Still, he said that lawyer had “no significant input” into the final motion. He added that he did not consult his trial lawyer on it.
Conviction, sentence and next legal steps
A New York jury found Bankman-Fried guilty in November 2023 on seven criminal counts. Prosecutors said he defrauded FTX customers, lenders and investors. They also said Alameda Research played a central role.
He was later sentenced to 25 years in prison. He is now being held at the federal prison in Lompoc, California. His appeal seeks to challenge both the conviction and the sentence.
Bankman-Fried had already argued that Kaplan showed “extreme bias” during the case. That argument is part of his request for reassignment. For now, the new trial motion will stay off the court’s calendar.
The latest filing keeps his options open but changes the timing. Instead of pressing the Rule 33 motion now, he will wait for the appeals process to move forward.
Get 3 Free Stock Ebooks
Discover top-performing stocks in AI, Crypto, and Technology with expert analysis.
- Top 10 AI Stocks - Leading AI companies
- Top 10 Crypto Stocks - Blockchain leaders
- Top 10 Tech Stocks - Tech giants
