Press Release

Judge Blocks 'Going Infinite' Excerpt as 'Inadmissible Hearsay' at Sam Bankman-Fried Trial

By André Beganski

October 31, 2023

Typically, statements made by a defendant who testifies at trial aren’t considered hearsay, Daniel C. Silva, a former assistant U.S. attorney and shareholder at Buchalter, told Decrypt. However, because the conversation wasn’t offered “to rebut an express or implied charge,” it wasn’t allowed under the court’s rules, he said.

“In this instance, SBF was offering [that] this was his then-existing mental state of mind,” Silva said. However, Silva said that Kaplan’s ruling suggests he “agreed with the U.S. Attorney's Office—that there was something a little bit more reflective, considered, and, in truth, manufactured” about Bankman-Fried’s remarks.

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