- Ryan Salame withdrew his petition to compel the government to abide by his plea deal after Michelle Bond, his partner, was indicted on campaign finance violations.
- Bond, a former SEC lawyer, was released on a $1 million bond after facing charges related to illegal campaign contributions.
Ryan Salame, the former FTX executive who was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison, has withdrawn his request to compel the government to abide by his plea deal or vacate his sentence. Salame initially filed the petition, claiming that prosecutors had improperly obtained his guilty plea by promising to drop their investigation into Michelle Bond, his long-time partner and the mother of his child.
However, after Bond was indicted on Aug. 22 for campaign finance violations, Salame decided to withdraw his petition. His legal team stated that the withdrawal would allow Bond to address the matter in her own proceedings.
"Mr. Salame is withdrawing the Petition so that Ms. Bond may raise the matter in her proceeding," his lawyers wrote. "To be clear, Mr. Salame stands by the facts set forth in the Petition and his accompanying declaration."
Bond, a former SEC lawyer and crypto advocate, appeared before a magistrate judge in the Southern District of New York and was released on a $1 million bond. She faces four counts related to alleged illegal campaign contributions during her 2022 Congressional run, with each count carrying a maximum five-year sentence.
Despite Salame’s motion to withdraw, Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that he would still hold a hearing on the original petition, making Salame’s attendance a condition of his bail. Salame’s legal team emphasized that it makes sense for Bond’s case to handle the issues raised, as "the primary relief sought in the Petition is dismissal of the indictment against Ms. Bond."
Edited by Harshajit Sarmah
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