Sam Bankman Fried gets 6.5 hours leave from prison

For allegedly violating his bail conditions, the ex-CEO of FTX had to wait in jail for his trial. Now he will be allowed back out for a short time.

A US judge is allowing Sam Bankman Fried to meet with his lawyers outside prison. This is contained in a court file of Aug. 22.

"The motion is granted to the extent the marshal allows the defendant to meet with an attorney in the marshal's office," the document states.

Judge Lewis Kaplan also allowed Bankman-Fried's lawyers to bring "a laptop with Internet and a Wi-Fi device" to the hearing. The filing states that Bankman-Fried may meet with his lawyers at certain times, such as from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

After reports surfaced of witness tampering by Bankman Fried, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the court to revoke his bail and lock him up. He was previously released to his childhood home on $250 million bail.

The DOJ cited attempted witness tampering as the reason. Bankman-Fried allegedly leaked diaries of his former girlfriend and co-defendant Caroline Ellison to the New York Times in an attempt to intimidate her.

Ellison, who ran the Alameda Research trading firm before FTX collapsed, now plays a crucial role as the prosecution's star witness. The trial is scheduled to begin in October.