March 2024 - cypherpunks@lists.ogf.org

Top Crypto Exchange Binance Spins Off $10 Billion Venture Unit
by Gunnar Larson 15 Mar '24

15 Mar '24

Top Crypto Exchange Binance Spins Off $10 Billion Venture Unit https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-15/crypto-exchange-binance-… Crypto exchange Binance quietly spun off its $10 billion venture capital arm earlier this year in one of the most notable developments yet of Chief Executive Officer Richard Teng’s four-month-old tenure.

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Ex-LA Official Lied To Feds Immediately In Interview, Jury Told
by Gunnar Larson 15 Mar '24

15 Mar '24

Ex-LA Official Lied To Feds Immediately In Interview, Jury Told <https://www.law360.com/governmentcontracts/articles/1814032?nl_pk=4126fe73-…> By Craig Clough An FBI agent told a California federal jury on Thursday in former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan's federal bribery trial that Chan lied to him during a 2018 interview immediately after he was warned that lying to the bureau is a crime. Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/governmentcontracts/articles/1814032?nl_pk=4126fe73-…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/governmentcontracts/articles/1814032?nl_pk=4126fe73-…>

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League Of Women Voters Sues Dem Consultant Over Biden AI
by Gunnar Larson 15 Mar '24

15 Mar '24

League Of Women Voters Sues Dem Consultant Over Biden AI <https://www.law360.com/cybersecurity-privacy/articles/1813918?nl_pk=3dfd2fd…> By Joyce Hanson A political consultant got slapped Thursday with a League of Women Voters civil rights lawsuit in New Hampshire federal court, claiming that he commissioned a slew of robocalls impersonating President Joe Biden using a "deepfake" voice simulated by artificial intelligence. Complaint attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/cybersecurity-privacy/articles/1813918?nl_pk=3dfd2fd…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/cybersecurity-privacy/articles/1813918?nl_pk=3dfd2fd…>

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Bankman-Fried Taps New Firm For SEC, CFTC Defense
by Gunnar Larson 15 Mar '24

15 Mar '24

Bankman-Fried Taps New Firm For SEC, CFTC Defense <https://www.law360.com/compliance/articles/1813851?nl_pk=ab5ce197-c1fb-4d8e…> By Aislinn Keely Convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has swapped his Cohen & Gresser LLP counsel for attorneys at Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoades LLP in his stayed civil cases. 2 documents attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/compliance/articles/1813851?nl_pk=ab5ce197-c1fb-4d8e…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/compliance/articles/1813851?nl_pk=ab5ce197-c1fb-4d8e…>

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Fwd: The public pays for records lawsuits
by Baffo 32 15 Mar '24

15 Mar '24

Noticed this mentions successful litigation against withholding of records ! ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Freedom of the Press Foundation <newsletter(a)freedom.press> Date: Thu, Mar 14, 2024 at 14:12 Subject: The public pays for records lawsuits To: <baffo32(a)gmail.com> Why Texas senators should support the PRESS Act View this email in your browser ( https://mailchi.mp/freedom.press/the-public-pays-for-records-lawsuits?e=8b5… ) Dear Friend of Press Freedom, Here are some of the most important stories we’re following from the U.S. and around the world. If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please forward it to friends and family. If someone has forwarded you this newsletter, please subscribe here (https://freedom.press/subscribe/) . San José Spotlight City Hall reporter Jana Kadah conducts a phone interview. The Spotlight was awarded $500,000 in attorneys fees in its public records lawsuit against the California city after a judge determined the records were wrongly withheld. Courtesy of Ramona Giwargis ** Who pays for public records lawsuits? The public ------------------------------------------------------------ Public records and freedom of information laws are fundamental for government transparency. But when journalists fight for access to wrongfully withheld records at the state and local level, the public is paying the price, according to a new article ( https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/the-public-is-paying-the-price-for-loca…) published by our U.S. Press Freedom Tracker (https://pressfreedomtracker.us/) for Sunshine Week. Over the past year alone, local governments have paid journalists at least $1.6 million in attorneys fees — all of which was financed by taxpayers — following public records lawsuits. Read more on the Tracker’s website ( https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/the-public-is-paying-the-price-for-loca…) about the high costs caused by pointless fights against records requests, as well as proposed legislation in various states that might make it harder for the public to access public records. Or, listen to a discussion of these issues on X ( https://x.com/FreedomofPress/status/1767672077916438614?s=20) with Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Advocacy Director Seth Stern, Tracker Senior Reporter Stephanie Sugars, and the director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project, David Cuillier. To explore more of the Tracker’s coverage of select, egregious records denials exposed by lawsuits against state agencies, search the incident database using the #public records ( https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/?tags=public+records) tag. Texas senators should support the PRESS Act The PRESS Act — the federal shield bill that passed the House this year — is the most important First Amendment legislation ( https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/4442351-why-political-rivals-can-…) in modern history. It’s currently pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which includes both senators representing Texas, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. FPF’s Seth Stern joined First Amendment lawyer Gene Schaerr of Protect The 1st (https://www.protect1st.org/) to write an op-ed for The Dallas Morning News ( https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2024/03/12/cruz-and-cornyn-sh…) about why Cornyn and Cruz should help get the PRESS Act across the finish line. Both Cruz and Cornyn have spoken out against anti-press measures, Stern and Schaerr explain, making their support for the PRESS Act a “no-brainer.” But the PRESS Act still needs more support to go the distance, especially from Republican committee members. If you’re in Texas, consider contacting Sen. Cruz (https://www.cruz.senate.gov/contact/write-ted) and Sen. Cornyn ( https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/share-opinion/) to express your support for the legislation. Or reach out to your senator, if you’re in one of these dozen-and-a-half states ( https://freedom.press/newsletter/press-for-the-press-act/) . Read the full op-ed here ( https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2024/03/12/cruz-and-cornyn-sh…) . Burke charges are a ‘hack’ job We’ve written before ( https://freedom.press/news/indictment-of-journalist-raises-serious-first-am…) about how the indictment of journalist Tim Burke — based on his online newsgathering exposing outtakes from Tucker Carlson’s interview with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West — raises disturbing questions about just how much the government will stretch a federal hacking law, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, to criminalize journalism. Now, writing in Ars Technica ( https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/03/charges-against-journalist-tim-…) , FPF Deputy Director of Advocacy Caitlin Vogus and ACLU Surveillance and Cybersecurity Counsel Jennifer Stisa Granick unpack these charges, and the dangers they pose to journalists. “Journalists need never ask corporations for permission to investigate or embarrass them, and the law shouldn’t encourage or force them to,” Vogus and Granick write. “Just because someone doesn’t like what a reporter does online doesn’t mean that it’s without authorization and that what he did is therefore a crime.” Read the full op-ed here ( https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/03/charges-against-journalist-tim-…) . The media are getting easier to push around “Reporters and news organizations in hundreds of communities have faced interference, intimidation, and harassment from local officials in recent years,” writes Paul Farhi in The Atlantic this week ( https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/03/local-government-bullying…) , citing data from the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Case in point: the arrest and prosecution of a local publisher ( https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/alabama-publisher-charged-over…) and reporter ( https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/alabama-reporter-faces-felony-…) in Atmore, Alabama. They’re charged with felonies for simply publishing a story ( https://archive.is/o/G4OhZ/https://atmorenews.com/2023/10/25/boe-investigat…) , based on an anonymous leak, revealing a grand jury investigation into possible financial fraud by the local school system. Farhi links this and other abuses to decreased public and financial support for the news industry, as well as “the hostile climate that surrounds reporting these days.” “Local authorities seem to have gotten the message that they can get away with this,” FPF Executive Director Trevor Timm told Farhi, who also cites FPF’s coverage of the alarming increase in prior restraints ( https://www.cjr.org/opinion/prior-restraints-opinion-seth-stern-contempt-co…) against the press. Read the full article here ( https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/03/local-government-bullying…) . ** What we’re reading ------------------------------------------------------------ Israeli tank strike killed 'clearly identifiable' Reuters reporter - UN report ( https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-tank-strike-killed-clearl…) . A United Nations investigation has confirmed what civil society ( https://rsf.org/en/rsf-video-investigation-death-reuters-reporter-issam-abd…) and news organizations ( https://www.reuters.com/graphics/ISRAEL-LEBANON/JOURNALIST/akveabxrzvr/) have already shown: Israel violated international law when it killed Reuters reporter Issam Abdallah and wounded six other journalists in Lebanon last year. Israel must ensure those responsible for Abdallah’s death and other attacks on journalists ( https://cpj.org/2024/03/journalist-casualties-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict/) are held responsible and that killings of journalists stop ( https://freedom.press/news/press-rights-groups-demand-protections-for-journ…) . ACLU Urges Senate to Reject TikTok Ban Bill Following House Passage ( https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-urges-senate-to-reject-tiktok-ban-…) . Banning TikTok would be censorship ( https://freedom.press/news/unconstitutional-tiktok-ban-would-open-the-door-…) . Period. Journalists and media outlets use the platform to share news stories, and millions of Americans use it to consume news. Censoring communications from foreign countries — let alone entire platforms — is plainly unconstitutional. That’s why FPF joined the ACLU and other free speech and civil liberties organizations in a letter urging Congress to reject the TikTok ban bill ( https://www.aclu.org/documents/coalition-letter-to-house-of-representatives…) . You can also tell Congress to stop the TikTok ban ( https://act.eff.org/action/tell-congress-stop-the-tiktok-ban) . Lawmakers approve controversial bill to limit public access to government records ( https://newjerseymonitor.com/2024/03/11/lawmakers-approve-controversial-bil…) . The New Jersey legislature is fast-tracking a bill that would gut the state’s Open Public Records Act, despite opposition from everyone under the sun: residents, journalists, civil liberties advocates, activists, voting watchdogs, lawyers, and even some state officials. It’s painfully ironic and wrong that New Jersey lawmakers are taking this step during Sunshine Week. New Jersey should not pass this bill. NYC Mayor Eric Adams says that if police radio transmissions aren’t encrypted, the terrorists will win ( https://www.techdirt.com/2024/03/11/nyc-mayor-eric-adams-says-that-if-polic…) . “No one involved in this shift towards encrypted NYPD communications has ever bothered to recognize the cognitive dissonance that says protecting private people’s communications is a net loss for society while protecting cop communications is a net gain.” That’s exactly right. Police in New York City and elsewhere shouldn’t dodge journalists and public accountability ( https://freedom.press/news/police-dodge-journalists-by-encrypting-radio/) by encrypting police radio. https://twitter.com/freedomofpress https://www.facebook.com/FreedomOfThePressFoundation/ https://freedom.press/ ============================================================ Copyright © 2024 Freedom of the Press Foundation, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Freedom of the Press Foundation 49 Flatbush Ave, #1017 Brooklyn, NY 11217 USA Want to change how you receive these emails? You can ** update your preferences ( https://press.us6.list-manage.com/profile?u=19b87eae477821267dea69438&id=c8… ) or ** unsubscribe from this list ( https://press.us6.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=19b87eae477821267dea69438&i… ) .

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Atty Rips Fox Rothschild's Gag Order Bid As 'Temper Tantrum'
by Gunnar Larson 15 Mar '24

15 Mar '24

Atty Rips Fox Rothschild's Gag Order Bid As 'Temper Tantrum' <https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1813660?nl_pk=d2b3e7ef-ab62-4a62-80…> By Ryan Boysen The attorney for two men suing Fox Rothschild LLP for malpractice has hit back against the firm's request for a gag order — which came after he called the firm a "corrupt organization" and threatened criminal prosecution — calling it a "temper tantrum" and claiming Fox Rothschild is merely trying to distract from the events that led him to make those comments. Brief attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1813660?nl_pk=d2b3e7ef-ab62-4a62-80…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1813660?nl_pk=d2b3e7ef-ab62-4a62-80…>

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Trump Can't Duck Classified Doc Charges Over Vagueness
by Gunnar Larson 15 Mar '24

15 Mar '24

Trump Can't Duck Classified Doc Charges Over Vagueness <https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1811497?nl_pk=d2b3e7ef-ab62-4a62-80…> By Carolina Bolado The Florida federal judge overseeing the criminal prosecution of former President Donald Trump over the alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate denied his bid Thursday to toss the indictment based on the "unconstitutional vagueness" of the Espionage Act, opting instead to punt the issue to later in the case. Order attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1811497?nl_pk=d2b3e7ef-ab62-4a62-80…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1811497?nl_pk=d2b3e7ef-ab62-4a62-80…>

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Court Urged To Give Sullivan & Cromwell $31M For FTX Work
by Gunnar Larson 15 Mar '24

15 Mar '24

Court Urged To Give Sullivan & Cromwell $31M For FTX Work <https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1813277?nl_pk=d2b3e7ef-ab62-4a62-80…> By Emlyn Cameron A Delaware bankruptcy judge should give Sullivan & Cromwell LLP about $31 million in fees for its work in FTX Trading Ltd.'s case from August through October 2023, the Chapter 11 fee examiner said. Report attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1813277?nl_pk=d2b3e7ef-ab62-4a62-80…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1813277?nl_pk=d2b3e7ef-ab62-4a62-80…>

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Trump Hush Money 'Half Mary': Blame The Lawyers, Sort Of
by Gunnar Larson 15 Mar '24

15 Mar '24

Trump Hush Money 'Half Mary': Blame The Lawyers, Sort Of <https://www.law360.com/mergersacquisitions/articles/1813224?nl_pk=a34c25b5-…> By Phillip Bantz Donald Trump's informal advice-of-counsel defense in the criminal hush money case in New York is a potentially risky, long-shot attempt at "having it both ways" by blaming his lawyers without having to testify or divulge details of their relationship, experts say. Notice attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/mergersacquisitions/articles/1813224?nl_pk=a34c25b5-…> |

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Ex-Real Estate Exec Accused Of $77M WeWork Stock Fraud
by Gunnar Larson 15 Mar '24

15 Mar '24

Ex-Real Estate Exec Accused Of $77M WeWork Stock Fraud <https://www.law360.com/mergersacquisitions/articles/1813788?nl_pk=a34c25b5-…> By Stewart Bishop Manhattan federal prosecutors announced Thursday that the former CEO of real estate investment firm ArciTerra was indicted, alleging he issued a bogus $77 million offer for WeWork shares in an ultimately failed attempt to cash in on call options after juicing the stock price. Indictment attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/mergersacquisitions/articles/1813788?nl_pk=a34c25b5-…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/mergersacquisitions/articles/1813788?nl_pk=a34c25b5-…>

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