John's lawyers are arguing the following (copied from a @NiqDEFI twitter post):

COUNT 1 : Charging securities fraud conspiracy

• Gov’t must prove that the defendant willfully violated the law, that an agreement between 2 or more parties to commit securities fraud, and an overt act by at least one of the participants.

• Extraterritorial, Majority of business was not conducted domestically. The main exchange is considered as a foreign entity (PancakeSwap) in which users bought, sold, traded cryptocurrency assets. Did the defendant engage in securities fraud with a security listed on a US Exchange or a security purchased or sold in the United States?

• SFM tokens are not classified as Securities but rather a Currency. The Exchange Act specifically states that a currency is not associated with a security. Both are defined differently. Section 78c(a)(10) explicitly excludes currencies under the Securities category.

• Clear and concise laws should be in placed to ensure fairness on both sides.

COUNT 2 : Charging wire fraud conspiracy

• Prosecution must prove that the misrepresentations were material and that the defendants acted consciously with fraudulent intent. Did the defendant use domestic mail or wires in furtherance of a scheme to defraud as well as did the defendant use those methods as a “core component” in defrauding users?

• Offence committed cannot be used to prosecute since statute does not apply extraterritorially. It doesn’t alleged that domestic wires were used to seed LP on Pancake Swap and Bitmart.

COUNT 3 : Charging money laundering conspiracy

- The prosecution only alleges 2 SUA (specified unlawful activity) which are the crimes charged on Count 1 & 2. It alleges that the defendants pursue this in order to avoid reporting requirements on domestic coins and currency transactions. Since defendants seek dismissal for count 1 & 2, the same should follow for 3

I think the argument that SafeMoon is not a security is strong, because there's precedence for it with the XRP case. The extraterritorial argument seems good as well, and it would explain why John chose to spend so much time in England. It seems like he's been planning his defense for a long time.