Deaton Says SEC Lawyers Are 100% Transactional In Their Arguments

Attorney Deaton criticized the SEC, saying the agency’s lawyers are 100% transactional.

Crypto Law founder attorney John Deaton has reiterated that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawyers are “100% transactional in their arguments.” In a recent Twitter thread, attorney Deaton said the SEC lawyers are willing to say anything they think is valid that would help them win an argument without considering their previous statements. Rather than morals, and ethics, the SEC lawyers only try to win debates.

It bears mentioning that Deaton’s recent comment about the SEC is in response to a Forbes article titled “SEC Spin Doctors Trying To Hide Crypto Regulation Disaster.” 

Attorney Deaton further buttressed his assertion by referring to the legal battle between Ripple and the SEC over the drafts of William Hinman’s controversial speech, where he said Ethereum (ETH) is not a security.

A year an a half ago I made the comment that the SEC lawyers are ? transactional in their arguments. They say whatever they think helps them at the moment giving no weight or consideration to any statement previously made. Remember the Hinman emails? https://t.co/oFWEdgKVNT

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) January 8, 2023

Deaton Proves His Points

Deaton, who represents XRP holders as “friends of the court” in the ongoing lawsuit between the SEC and Ripple, said the SEC had argued for over a year that Hinman’s June 2018 controversial speech reflected the former Corporation of Finance director’s personal opinion and not market guidance.

However, after Judge Sarah Netburn ordered the SEC to surrender Hinman’s documents to Ripple since the speech represented his personal opinion, the agency made a U-turn in its argument. The SEC claimed that the speech was a guidance to the market from the Division of Corporation of Finance, Deaton added.

When Judge Netburn asked the SEC about its inconsistent arguments over Hinman’s documents, Deaton said the SEC claimed that they were not inconsistent, adding that she must have misunderstood the agency’s position.

“The Hinman emails are only one of the reasons the Judge said the SEC lawyers are hypocritical and only care about winning the next argument and that they ‘lack any faithful allegiance to the law.’ Those are her words, not mine,” the Crypto Law founder said.