SEC Must Disclose Critical Documents in Ripple Lawsuit, Judge Orders
Federal Judge Sarah Netburn has dismissed U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) retain specific internal email conversations from its lawsuit against Ripple.
In a court order dated April 11, the judge mandated the SEC to hand over all drafts and emails relating to the ‘controversial’ 2018 William Hinman speech. The former director of the Commission’s Division of Corporate Finance said Ethereum (ETH) was not a security.
The order reads:
“By letter motion, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) moves for partial reconsideration or clarification of the Court’s January 13, 2022 Order, which held in relevant part that emails concerning and draft versions of a June 14, 2018 speech given by then-Director William Hinman (the “Speech”) are not shielded by the deliberate process privilege. The motion is DENIED as to reconsideration and GRANTED as to clarification.”
The SEC was first told to produce the emails back in January, however the regulator appealed the decision.
Netburn explains the court’s latest decision in the filing:
“The question is whether any of the communications about, edits to, or comments on drafts of the Speech were not just related to specific deliberations facing the agency but comprised an “essential link” in those deliberations. Having reviewed the documents, I find that, in general, agency staff communications about edits to the Speech—and the edits themselves—were not part of deliberations about how to communicate agency policy. However, to the extent that there exist communications between staff discussing the Speech in the context of how it implicates other, separate agency deliberations—not deliberations about the content of the speech—the SEC may seek leave to redact those communications from its production. To give the SEC some guidance, comment 12 on page 6 of the Speech draft in Document J, which was submitted for in camera review, is the type of communication contemplated.”
Commenting on the matter, legal expert Jeremy Hogan, who has been closely following the case since day 1, told his Twitter followers:
The Order is a little concerning because she allows redaction of parts which discussed “separate agency deliberations.”
My concern: it’s those parts of the emails that are most damaging to the SEC. How will we know? If the SEC appeals up to Judge Torres, they are in trouble. pic.twitter.com/XcjmxaQPJD
— Jeremy Hogan (@attorneyjeremy1) April 11, 2022
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Source: igaming
