There was more. Had Bankman-Fried referred to FTX as safe in numerous public statements? He couldn’t recall. Did he remember tweeting that the acceptable number of issues when it comes to a client’s money is zero? He couldn’t recall. Had he tweeted that lying to customers broke “sacred rules of conduct” everyone knows to follow? He couldn’t recall. Did he remember that he supported regulation only as long as it protected consumers? He couldn’t recall.
Every single question was followed by evidence of Bankman-Fried publicly using the precise language Sassoon had offered. Several journalists were in the courthouse — some even in the courtroom — as their articles about Bankman-Fried were read aloud. It was obvious to everyone in the courtroom what was going on. Bankman-Fried stuck to his “do not recalls” anyway.
Still, he hadn’t made any of those statements under
legal oath, had he? Well… that remained true until we reached his Congressional testimony. Bankman-Fried read aloud testimony he’d submitted to Congress: that trading platforms’ obligations included maintaining sufficient liquid assets that customers could withdraw on request. That platforms should ensure appropriate bookkeeping to prevent misuse of customer assets. Ensuring appropriate management of risks. Avoiding conflicts of interest.
Sassoon immediately followed this with
direct messages Bankman-Fried had sent to Kelsey Piper, in which he said this was all just public relations, and “**** regulators.”
At this point, my notes simply read “Jesus Bleepity Christ” in all caps.