Ammara
The court is close to reaching a conclusion on Hinman’s 2018 speech as it orders the SEC to submit 10 documents to guide its decision.
Judge Sarah Netburn, one of the presiding judges in the Ripple v. SEC lawsuit, has ordered the Securities and Exchange Commission to submit 10 additional documents that will support its decision on the attorney-client privilege claim over the William Hinman document.
The SEC is required to submit 10 documents for in-camera review by June 16, 2022, the court’s order reads.
SEC’s Recent Claim Contradicts the Previous
Per a recent court order, prior to the SEC’s recent attorney-client privilege over Hinman’s document, the Securities and Exchange Commission was previously ordered to submit 10 exemplar documents for in-camera review.
This was in connection to the agency’s partial reconsideration request for the court’s January 13, 2022 order. However, upon filing a new motion seeking to protect Hinman’s documents on the grounds of attorney-client privilege, the SEC sought to withhold the exemplar documents as well as others filed in its February 17, 2022 motion for partial reconsideration.
Judge Netburn noted that the Court has reviewed the previous 10 exemplar documents in the context of deliberative process privilege (DPP) and has not done the same for others.
“To facilitate the court’s review of the communications to which the SEC claims attorney-client privilege applies, by June 26, 2022, the SEC may submit 10 additional documents listed in Attachment 1 for in-camera review,” an excerpt of the court’s motion reads.
SEC’s Quest to Protect Hinman’s Documents
The development comes as the Security and Exchange Commission continues to make efforts to protect the document of its former Director of Corporation Finance from being used as evidence in the Ripple lawsuit.
Despite the court ordering the SEC to surrender the Hinman documents to Ripple, the agency blatantly refused the order, making claims on why the agency should not be requested to surrender the documents.
The SEC’s latest reason for why Hinman’s documents should not be used in the lawsuit is on the basis that the former Director of the agency’s Corporation of Finance discussed with some attorneys at the SEC before formulating the speech.
Ripple and XRP Holders Oppose the SEC’s Motion
Ripple, as well as many XRP enthusiasts, have slammed the SEC over its attorney-client claims, thus prompting the court to invite both parties to a conference last week to discuss all issues surrounding Hinman’s documents.
Although no decision was made at the conference, the blockchain company and its enthusiasts are optimistic that the court’s decision regarding Hinman’s speech will be in favor of the blockchain company.
However, attorney John Deaton, who recently requested to represent 67,300 XRP holders in the upcoming Daubert challenge, noted that the agency would rather opt for a settlement with Ripple instead of surrendering Hinman’s document.
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