Roman Storm, founder of Tornado Cash, claimed on social media that the DOJ is blocking his expert witnesses. His trial is set to begin on July 14, a little over one month from today.
He called six witnesses, and the DOJ entirely rejected five of them. One witness, Matthew Edman, may have relevant information about blockchain technology, but the DOJ restricted him severely.
A legal battle around Tornado Cash, a decentralized privacy protocol, has been brewing for quite a while.
In 2023, the US government sanctioned the platform for allegedly aiding North Korean hackers. Tornado Cash founder Roman Storm fought these allegations, eventually leading to the impending trial and witness dispute.
Since Roman Storm addressed this treatment of his expert witnesses, prominent crypto leaders and organizations have donated to his legal fund. Storm has requested such donations at several points throughout the history of this case.
However, the DOJ lists several valid reasons to deny Storm’s “experts” in its filing. These witnesses were set to testify on digital privacy, blockchain technology, tokenomics, and whether or not KYC requirements would apply to Tornado Cash, among other things.
The prosecutors took a dim view of all these topics, dismissing their relevance outright. For example, this is a portion of its dismissal of Matthew Green, Roman Storm’s first expert witness:
“None of the above-listed topics are relevant to any fact at issue in this case. The only part of the initial paragraph of Green’s disclosure that might be a fit topic for expert testimony in this case is ‘the Tornado Cash protocol.’ But that description fails to disclose any opinion Green might offer, much less explain the relevance of any such opinion to this case,” it claimed.
It treated all of Roman Storm’s other witnesses similarly – criticizing their relevance, methodology, and proper vetting of their data.
Also, the DOJ asserted that it is not an expert’s job to offer legal judgments, like whether or not KYC requirements apply to Tornado Cash. The judge and the jury are supposed to determine that.
More to the point, Roman Storm stands accused of conspiracy to violate international sanctions, and several witnesses do not directly address that topic.
Even though the US Treasury removed Tornado Cash from its sanctions list, there is long-running scrutiny against it. The DOJ renewed its attack on Roman Storm last month, and it intends to see him convicted. He may need to find witnesses who have more directly relevant testimony.
Meanwhile, several community members and organizations continue to support the founder and have donated to his legal defense.
Earlier today, the Ethereum Foundation announced that it will donate $500,000 from the organization fund and another $750,000 from the community.
Overall, it seems Roman Storm will have the financial resources to present a strong defense in his trial. Yet, without expert witnesses, his case might face severe hurdles.
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