SEC Not Willing To Heed Court Orders, Files Yet Another Brief to Avoid Surrendering Hinman Documents to Ripple 

The SEC is still not willing to surrender the draft of William Hinman’s 2018 speech. 

In a brief response filed by the SEC yesterday, the commission is still objecting to Judge Sarah Netburn’s ruling, ordering the securities regulators to surrender the documents to Ripple. 

The SEC maintained that Judge Netburn “did not get the law right.” According to the commission, the argument that because the speech reflected Hinman’s personal opinion, it cannot be privileged is built on the premise of two factual and legal mistakes. 

“That holding is based on two false dichotomies that Defendants continue to champion: (1) agency communications can only reflect either personal views or agency views; and (2) the DPP and attorney-client privilege protect only deliberations about specific agency decisions and not deliberations that reflect personal views of agency staff,” the SEC noted in its recent brief, adding: 

“Because the Orders contain clear factual errors and are contrary to law, the Court should sustain the SEC’s Objections for the reasons set forth therein.”  

SEC Not Prepared to Surrender Hinman’s Documents

Despite Judge Netburn denying the SEC’s motions to keep Hinman’s documents from Ripple on two occasions, the agency is still not willing to heed these orders. 

It has continuously filed objections to every order to surrender the documents to Ripple. 

Based on the SEC’s resilience to keep Hinman’s documents, attorney John Deaton, Amici’s legal representative, has speculated that the agency would rather settle with Ripple than surrender the documents. 

“Those emails, those comments are never going to see the light of day outside of the SEC office. If the SEC is forced to turn over those documents, that’s when s settlement can happen,” attorney Deaton said.