XRP-SEC trial judge Sarah Netburn dealt a blow to the regulator by refusing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) attorney-client privilege requests. “Documents need to be submitted,” Netburn said.
Lawyer James K. Filan Claims Court’s Decision Means “A Heavy Impact” for SEC
Defense attorney James K. Filan, who has closely followed the XRP case, described the decision as a “heavy blow”.
The SEC had sought attorney-client privilege to hide internal documents related to the famous Ethereum talk by former senior official William Hinman.
Plaintiff initially attempted to defend its negotiation privilege, but the agency withdrew its bid in January. The court ruled that collecting information from third parties cannot be considered a private activity.
At the end of April, the SEC made another attempt to keep Hinman’s emails private, citing attorney-client privilege.
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SEC Advocates Confidentiality of Hinman’s Speech Documents for XRP Case
The plaintiff argued that the documents in question reflected “confidential information,” adding that Hinman should be recognized as a client of the SEC lawyers who provided legal advice to him. The SEC also stressed that drafting the speech would not be available to Hinman as an ordinary citizen.
However, the defendants claimed that Hinman was not a client of the institution’s lawyers.
Judge, speech cryptocurrency He also accused the SEC of “hypocrisy”, claiming that Hinman had sought legal advice from SEC counsel, while arguing that it was not related to the SEC’s regulation. Netburn added that the agency has adopted its legal positions “to achieve its desired goal”.
“The evidence suggests that the predominant purpose of the speeches was not to provide legal advice,” the court said.
*Not investment advice.