SBF is about to testify in court, the strategy seems to be "no intention of fraud, lying"

After weeks of courtroom drama reminiscent of a soap opera, the disgraced former CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, SBF, has finally decided to break his silence. His lawyer, Mark Cohen, confirmed that SBF will testify in court, with his testimony expected to take up the entire day on Thursday, followed by cross-examination by the prosecution on Friday.

SBF's Strategy Appears to be "No Intent to Defraud, Mislead, Lie"

Since August, SBF has been held in a New York prison, not doing much in court other than taking notes on a laptop as government prosecutors attempt to make their case. According to a report by The Block, the defense requested on Wednesday that the court allow two FBI agents to testify in an attempt to find holes in the government's witnesses' testimonies.

Former federal prosecutor Josh Naftalis believes SBF's strategy seems to be:

He had no intent to commit any fraud; he had no intent to deceive anyone; he had no intent to lie!

His best course of action at this point would be to testify as it is the best way for him to convey his thoughts to the jury.

Naftalis stated that the defense's decision to put their client on the stand could help reinforce the point that "the prosecution unfairly portrayed SBF." The head of FTX is seen as a cartoon villain and mastermind of crime. The best outcome for SBF might be a hung jury, as this would mean there isn't a unanimous decision by the jurors, therefore no guilty verdict can be reached.

Prosecution's Questioning of SBF Expected to Begin on Friday

Naftalis also anticipates that the prosecution's questioning of SBF may begin on Friday, reminding government attorneys to be well prepared to question this once-renowned prodigy.

I expect they have prepared for this for a long time and have dug up all his prior statements, whether tweets, emails, texts, public statements made by him about the company, and are just going to sit there and throw it at him. But given SBF's extensive commentary over the years, this might be a rather rough questioning for him.