The lawyers of Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, have filed a second request for pre-trial release in a week, claiming that the federal jail where he is detained has inadequate internet connectivity.
They said that this is affecting their ability to prepare for his defence and wasting their time.
The request, dated Sept. 8, came after an Appellate judge rejected SBF’s appeal for immediate release on Sept. 6 and referred the matter to a three-judge panel.
According to SBF’s legal team, the government had assured them that he would have access to a laptop with internet from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, but this has not been fulfilled.
They gave several examples of how SBF’s internet access was interrupted or delayed due to jail procedures.
On Sept. 1, he was sent back to his cell at 2:30 p.m. for a headcount, losing four hours of work.
On Sept. 6, he was not released from his cell until 11:00 a.m. and when he tried to access the discovery database, the poor internet connection only allowed him to view one document.