Storm’s Legal Battle: Tornado Cash Founder Seeks More Time to Fight US Prosecutors
Lawyers representing Tornado Cash founder Roman Storm are pushing back against a filing by US prosecutors that aims to remove their expert witnesses. The prosecution argues that these witnesses could “waste time” and “confuse the jury.” Storm’s legal team has requested additional time to challenge the prosecution’s motion, which seeks to dismiss eight of their defensive arguments.
The US prosecution filed the witness motion on June 6, prompting Storm’s attorneys to seek an extension to oppose the government’s 60-page motion. The defense had planned to present five expert witnesses and one non-expert witness to discuss various crypto topics, including privacy, tokenomics, transaction tracing, and know-your-customer protocols. However, the government contends that these testimonies are a “Trojan horse” and could potentially confuse and mislead the jury.
According to prosecutors, the proposed expert testimony lacks a reliable methodology or basis in facts and data, and could be irrelevant, prejudicial, and confusing to the jury. They are urging the court to exclude these witnesses from the trial.
Storm’s legal team has requested an additional two days beyond the original June 16 deadline to respond to the government’s motion. The prosecution has opposed this request, despite Storm’s defense noting that they could still meet the original deadline and that the government had also sought extensions in the past.
Roman Storm is facing charges related to his involvement with the crypto mixer Tornado Cash. While some charges, such as operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, have been dropped by the Department of Justice, others, including money laundering, remain. Prosecutors have also retracted their classification of Tornado Cash as a “financial institution,” with the defense accusing the government of withholding evidence that contradicts this classification.
In a show of support for Storm, the Ethereum Foundation recently announced a $500,000 donation towards his legal defense. The foundation plans to match an additional $750,000 in donations from the community. Storm, who views Tornado Cash as a symbol of privacy and coding rights, expressed his belief that the outcome of his case could have far-reaching implications for the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector.
As the legal battle continues, Storm remains steadfast in his fight for privacy and coding freedom. The support from the Ethereum Foundation and the broader crypto community underscores the significance of this case in shaping the future of financial privacy and innovation in the digital asset space.