• News organizations, including Insider, are asking a court to unveil Sam Bankman-Fried's bail backers.

• Bankman-Fried has argued that his sponsors should stay private for their safety.

• The media companies say fraud charges and billions of dollars in potential losses call for transparency.

A group of media organizations, including Insider, have asked a federal judge to reveal the identities of two anonymous sponsors of Sam Bankman-Fried's bail package that includes a $250 million bond.

The letter — filed to court Thursday on behalf of news organizations including Insider, the Associated Press, Bloomberg, the Financial Times, CNBC, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post — argues there is "no dispute" that the identities of these sponsors should be made public.

Bankman-Fried's lawyers told the court earlier this month that the backers of his release should stay secret for their "privacy and safety." They said Bankman Fried's parents, Stanford law professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried  — who sponsored his $250 million bond — are already being harassed and threatened.

The media organizations argued there is a legitimate need for transparency about who might be bankrolling Bankman-Fried's relative freedom from custody while awaiting trial, especially in light of his high-level network of "prominent Silicon Valley billionaires, and elected representatives."

"Given Mr. Bankman-Fried's relationships and access to some of the most wealthy, powerful, and politically connected individuals, including elected officials, access to the identity of the bond sureties will bolster trust in the judicial process here," the news organizations, represented by Jeremy A. Chase and Alexandra Settelmayer at the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, argued in a filing.

A representative for Bankman-Fried declined to comment.

Bankman-Fried is under house arrest in his parents' home after pleading not guilty earlier this month to eight criminal counts. Government investigators alleged he and his associates liberally dipped into customer funds to make risky investments and political donations, and that some $8 billion in customer funds are missing.