--- title: "The Government Is Accusing SBF of Intentionally Leaking His Ex-Girlfriend’s Diary" description: "The FTX drama continues with news that the DOJ is accusing Sam Bankman-Fried of leaking his ex Caroline Ellison's diary to the NYT." date: "2023-07-21" modified: "2023-07-21" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/doj-accuses-sbf-leaking-ellison-diary" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Future Society" tags: - "caroline ellison" - "ftx" - "sbf" - "the digest" --- # The Government Is Accusing SBF of Intentionally Leaking His Ex-Girlfriend’s Diary ![The FTX drama continues with news that the DOJ is accusing Sam Bankman-Fried of leaking his ex Caroline Ellison's diary to the NYT.]() *\Image: Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty / Futurism\* ## Dear Diary Somehow, the FTX drama continues. This time, the Department of Justice is accusing the exchange's ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried of [leaking excerpts]() from his ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison's diary to the *New York Times —* less than a day after its contents were published by the paper. In a [DOJ memorandum](), US attorneys claimed that Bankman-Fried allegedly giving the *NYT* Ellison's diary entries is tantamount to derailing her testimony against him in his upcoming federal court case. As such, the DOJ is essentially seeking a gag order to keep SBF and anyone else involved in the case from releasing more infor ahead of trial. "The defendant has sought to publicly discredit a government witness by sharing her personal writings with a reporter," the US attorneys wrote, adding that "such efforts have the potential to taint the jury pool, and could have a chilling effect on witnesses." Though the *NYT* does not name its sources for the leaked diary entries of the former Alameda Research CEO, the DOJ claims it has knowledge of Bankman-Fried meeting with one of the article's authors and that he gave that writer documents not included in discovery. "Based on the excerpts in the Article," the memo continues, "the documents do not appear to be within the discovery materials in the case, but likely came from \[SBF's\] personal Google Drive account." ## Perniciousness The DOJ added that it was "particularly pernicious" that SBF leaked the documents to the *NYT* rather than commenting on them openly, and even took on the newspaper itself. "Having the story appear in a reputable newspaper with a worldwide readership without identifying the defendant as the source lends a misleading patina of legitimacy to what would otherwise be naked advocacy, compounding the risk of tainting prospective jurors," the memo reads. Honestly, the Justice Department makes a compelling case when it claims in its memo that the disgraced 31-year-old was, in essence if not intent, harassing Ellison and chilling other witnesses from testifying against him. "A common refrain from witnesses’ attorneys — including attorneys for witnesses located abroad — is witness hesitation about testifying in a case that has received persistent national and international media attention," the US attorneys wrote. "These witness concerns will only be heightened if witnesses are made to fear that a consequence of testifying against the defendant may include personal humiliation and efforts to discredit their reputation." **More on crypto scams:** [*Man Alarmed to Discover Entire Crypto Site Was Fake, Stealing His Money*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()