‘A joke in poor taste’: Tornado Cash T-shirt stirs controversy in court

Before Roman Storm’s defense attorneys rested their case on Tuesday, one matter that seemed to provoke some controversy in the courtroom was a T-shirt the Tornado Cash co-founder and developer wore at a crypto event in 2019.

During opening statements in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, both prosecutors and Storm’s lawyers reportedly brought up a Tornado Cash T-shirt the developer wore, which claimed to “wash” Ether through the mixing service.

A video posted by a 2019 ETHBoston attendee appeared to show Storm wearing the shirt, which stated “I keep my Ether clean with Tornado.cash,” showing a washing machine that resulted in “clean” ETH.

“The defendant was profiting from a giant washing machine for dirty money,” said Assistant US Attorney Kevin Mosley in court on July 15, according to reporting from Inner City Press. “He wore a T-shirt to that effect. Mr. Storm had choices. Once he learned he was washing money for criminals, he still chose to commit crimes. He continued.”

Storm’s legal team, which gave its opening statement after prosecutors, said the shirt was “a meme, a joke in poor taste.” They brought up the Tornado Cash merchandise a second time on Monday while arguing against a motion to exclude information about hackers using the mixing service.

Whether jurors or Judge Katherine Failla will consider the shirt a “joke” or an indication that Storm and other Tornado Cash developers claimed to operate a crypto “laundering” service remained to be seen at the time of publication. He faces charges of money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter and conspiracy to violate US sanctions.

Storm will not testify in his own defense

After starting jury selection on July 14, Storm’s criminal trial is expected to last about three weeks. Prosecutors closed their case on Friday after hearing from witnesses, including from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and individuals involved in hacking incidents. 

“The way the prosecutors have been painting a guilty image of Roman Storm and the Tornado Cash team is disingenuous,” said a spokesperson for the Golem Foundation, which contributed 50 ETH to Storm’s defense fund. “This case really is like blaming the developers of banking apps for financial scams that happen on the internet. It’s stupid.”

On Tuesday, Storm’s lawyers said the Tornado Cash co-founder would not testify. In an interview before the trial, he said he was uncertain whether he would take the stand. His defense team rested on Tuesday after more than three days of hearing from witnesses, and will likely begin closing statements on Wednesday.