Ripple v. SEC: New Email Conversation Shows William Hinman Violated SEC’s Rules

Ripple v. SEC: New Email Conversation Shows William Hinman Violated SEC’s Rules.

With the SEC refusing to produce William Hinman’s emails, new documents shared by Empower Oversight show that the former SEC director violated the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules. 

The documents, which feature messages from Hinman’s email, suggest how the former SEC director violated the agency’s rule multiple times. 

#XRPCommunity #XRP @EMPOWR_us scored some extraordinary emails regarding Bill Hinman, including one that shows that Hinman was warned that he has "a bar under the criminal financial conflict with Simpson because you have an ongoing financial interest in the firm." https://t.co/G7GnBzxbb3 pic.twitter.com/oe0i0qfhVw

— James K. Filan ????89k+ (beware of imposters) (@FilanLaw) April 8, 2022

Hinman Breaches SEC’s Rules

In some of the conversations, Hinman was specifically warned by Shira Minton, former SEC’s Ethics counsel, not to meet with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, a New York-based international law firm, while he was still working with the SEC. 

“You have a bar under the criminal financial conflict with Simpson because you have an ongoing financial interest in the firm. meeting with them while having such a conflict is not permitted,” Excerpt of a message sent by Minton to Hinman. 

However, Hinman neglected all warnings and went ahead to have the meeting with Simpson Thacher on four different occasions, as he disclosed in another conversation he had with one of the staff using a private email address. 

“We don’t know what Hinman and Bonnie discussed in their private meetings on 11/28/17, 9/6/18, 9/18/19 or 9/17/20, or how many other times Hinman violated criminal financial conflict rules without using his official SEC email account,” Crypto Law, a U.S.-based media outlet covering legal news for the crypto industry,  noted. 

(5/5) We don't know what Hinman and Bonnie discussed in their private meetings on 11/28/17, 9/6/18, 9/18/19 or 9/17/20, or how many other times Hinman violated criminal financial conflict rules without using his official SEC email account ? pic.twitter.com/mzAsL2NzIV

— CryptoLaw (@CryptoLawUS) April 8, 2022

It is worth noting that Hinman’s email conversation is part of the documents received by Empower Oversight from the SEC earlier this year. 

Hinman’s Role in the Ripple Lawsuit

On numerous occasions, Hinman’s name has been mentioned in the lawsuit slammed by the security agency on Ripple. 

Hinman is considered an integral part of the lawsuit because of his 2018 comments on whether Ethereum is a security, which was drafted in an email. 

Many believe XRP was also included in the conversation, which could see the charges against Ripple go away. 

However, all efforts to have the SEC surrender the email have been futile as the agency argues that some of the details of Hinman’s comments are personal deliberations, which makes it protected by the Deliberative Process Privilege (DPP).