The lawyer representing Shaun Bridges, the corrupt Secret Service agent who was part of the Silk Road investigation, has said that his recent appeal is largely worthless and has asked to be removed from the case.

Davina Pujari, who is Bridges’ third lawyer since his appeals process began in December 2015, wrote in a filing last Friday to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals:

After having carefully examined this record and after having researched the relevant statutes and case law, counsel has concluded that this appeal presents only legally frivolous issues. Therefore, counsel requests the Court's permission to withdraw as attorney of record and to allow Appellant to file any further briefs he deems necessary.

Last year, Bridges was sentenced to 71 months in prison after pleading guilty to stealing money from Silk Road dealers while investigating the site. He is now in federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, and is set to be released in January 2021.

Pujari, who did not respond to requests for comment, outlined an argument based in part on the fact that Curtis Green, a former Silk Road staffer, spoke at Bridges’ sentencing hearing in December 2015. Her brief said that Green’s “testimony [was] as a surprise victim, [and noted] that it was the first time these claims had been made, that they were not part of the plea agreement, and the accuracy of the claims was questionable.”

Green spoke at Bridges' sentencing hearing but was not under oath as a witness would be during a trial. In the appeal brief, Bridges argues that because Green was allowed to speak, his plea deal—which includes a waiver of his appeal rights—is invalid.

In January 2013, Green debriefed agents in Baltimore, including Bridges and another corrupt agent, then-DEA agent Carl Mark Force (who is also now behind bars). After the January 2013 meeting in Utah, Bridges took Green’s login credentials and started locking Silk Road drug dealers out of their accounts. Bridges would then loot the accounts, grabbing about 20,000 bitcoins in total.

The Friday filing does not address newly unsealed charges brought against Bridges last month: the government has strongly suspected that he stole another $700,000 after his plea deal was finalized.