In a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Storm’s defense team asked to exclude the unnamed witness, arguing prosecutors disclosed the individual after the agreed deadline.
According to the defense:
“[The testimony] would be unfairly prejudicial as it would likely confuse and mislead the jurors into believing that Mr. Storm was involved in the underlying purported hack or intended to facilitate it, which is not true.”
Storm’s attorneys argued the testimony could provoke “an angry response” from jurors, unfairly impacting their perception of the defendant. They reserved the right to seek a continuance if the court denies the motion to exclude.
Storm’s trial is set to begin on July 14, nearly two years after he was indicted on charges of money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter, and conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions. The judge is expected to rule on the witness motions by the end of this week.
Federal prosecutors have called several witnesses “victims” of Tornado Cash-enabled crimes. In a June post on social media, Storm said:
“SDNY is trying to crush me, blocking every expert witness. If I lose, DeFi dies with me.”
Storm’s trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection on Monday before Judge Katherine Failla.
