Arguments to free FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried get rough reception from federal appeals panel

By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court in Manhattan seems unreceptive to arguments that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried should be released before his trial starts in two weeks. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in Manhattan Tuesday, and all three judges were dismissive of his lawyer’s claims that the First Amendment protects him from a judge’s conclusion that his actions violated the conditions of his $250 million bail. Bankman-Fried was jailed last month after a judge concluded that he shared information with a reporter in an attempt to influence or intimidate one of the government’s star witnesses against him.