The tussle to get regulatory clarity for the crypto industry continues as Ripple and the SEC slug it out in court. Ripple has filed an objection to the SEC’s recent motion to be given more time to contest the recent ruling made by the presiding judge in the case, Judge Sarah Netburn. Ripple argues that the SEC is only trying to prolong the case and contradict itself with its latest motion.
The SEC should not be allowed to make new arguments now, says Ripple
Ripple defendants have responded to the recent motion filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with a resounding no. The SEC filed a motion to contest judge Sarah Netburn’s ruling that several key documents could not be protected by Deliberative Process Privilege (DPP) and had to be turned over to Ripple.
The aspect of the ruling which the SEC most strongly opposed in the motion it filed is the highly controversial emails that contain the draft of Bill Hinman’s speech that was circulated within the commission, called entry 9 in the context of the case. The SEC’s motion asked the court to give it more time to present supporting documents that will show that the said emails were deliberative.
The SEC respectfully submits that these additional documents clarify the truly deliberative nature of the discussions surrounding the Speech across the SEC, the SEC’s motion stated.
Ripple argues that the SEC was contradicting itself as it has long maintained that Hinman’s speech was his personal opinion.
…the SEC apparently intends to argue-contrary to its repeated assertions and sworn statements that Director Bill Hinman’s June 2018 speech represented only his personal views, Ripple notes.
Ripple’s legal team is also pointing out that the SEC has already had enough time to present the documents before the ruling was made, but failed to do so. They assert that the SEC cannot be allowed to do so now as it was against legal precedence.
Despite having the opportunity to argue in its prior briefing and argument that Entry 9 and similar documents related to agency deliberations about the regulation of Ether or digital assets more broadly, it did not. It cannot do so now, Ripple’s motion stated.
The controversy on Hinman’s speech continues
Members of the Ripple community and holders of the disputed XRP token have been taking apart Hinman’s speech to point out that contrary to the SEC’s claim that it was Hinman’s opinion, it does not appear that to be the case.
Staunch XRP supporter, John Deaton, recently pointed to an interview that Hinman gave to CNBC after the speech where he used “we” continuously while referring to how the statements he made in his speech were arrived at. Community members who had marked the ruling for the SEC to hand in the drafts of the speech are now asking why the SEC is objecting to the ruling if the speech did not reflect their stance.