Ripple Vs. SEC: Empower Oversight Says Public Deserves Answers From SEC About Hinman’s Speech

Empower Oversight Supports Forbes Contributor’s Motion to Unseal Hinman’s Documents.

Prominent nonprofit corruption watchdog, Empower Oversight, has supported Forbes’ Roslyn Layton’s motion to unseal William Hinman’s documents.

Empower Oversight Supports Motion to Unseal Hinman Docs Related to SEC Crypto Conflicts of Interesthttps://t.co/RRt714tz13#cryptotrading #crypto #Bitcoin $BTC $ETH $XRP

— Empower Oversight (@EMPOWR_us) February 23, 2023

Empower Oversight noted that the document needs to be unsealed regarding an alleged conflict of interest of a former SEC executive, William Hinman. 

Jayson Foster, the founder, and president of Empower Oversight, said: 

“The public deserves answers from the SEC as to what exactly the agency knew about Hinman’s speech and when they knew it.”

According to Foster, the Securities and Exchange Commission has been preventing all attempts by public interest organizations, including Empower Oversight, from uncovering all forms of conflicts of interest at the agency.

It cited some instances where the SEC stonewalled its attempts to expose conflicts of interest within the commission. The corruption watchdog asserted that the SEC ignored its request to access records of communications involving some of its officials.

Empower Oversight Releases Documents Indicting Hinman

Despite the setback, Empower Oversight has recorded breakthroughs in its quest to expose conflict of interest at the Securities and Exchange Commission. In May, Empower Oversight released a document suggesting that Hinman had a conflict of interest while working at the SEC.

The nonprofit corruption watchdog noted that Hinman should not have declared ETH a non-security due to his undisclosed financial interest with an Ethereum-related company, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.

Empower Oversight also disclosed that Hinman violated SEC’s rules by meeting with staff from Simpson Thacher. The development raised suspicions within the XRP community, as many believed Hinman made the controversial speech in 2018 due to his “direct financial interest” with Ethereum. 

This sparked widespread interest in Hinman’s document, with XRP enthusiasts eager to know the content of the drafts of the former SEC exec’s controversial speech.

For context, the SEC handed over the documents to Ripple in October after six court orders. However, the public is yet to gain access to the documents due to the SEC’s move to keep them sealed.

Forbes Senior Contributor Roslyn Layton recently led the charge to unseal the documents. As reported by TheCryptoBasic, Layton filed a motion to gain access to the documents to clarify whether Hinman’s interest in Ethereum motivated the speech.