As Sam Bankman-Fried took the stand on Thursday, a crowded galley of onlookers saw firsthand why defendants typically do not testify at their own criminal trials, with prosecutors eviscerating the disgraced crypto founder during an hours-long cross-examination without jurors present.
Bankman-Fried's lawyers first indicated at a teleconference call on Wednesday that their client would testify in his own defense, introducing a lengthy court filing late that night laying out the themes they planned to tackle.
