Deaton Says Nothing Nefarious Going on in SEC vs. Ripple Case, Nor Judge Torres is on SEC’s Payroll

Attorney Deaton dispels rumors claiming that Judge Torres is on SEC’s payroll. 

In a recent CryptoLaw broadcast, pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton spoke on multiple issues concerning the ongoing SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit. During the broadcast, Deaton addressed the rumor, claiming that something nefarious had been happening behind the scenes.

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For context, several rumors have emerged in the past few weeks following Judge Analisa Torres’ delay in issuing her summary judgment decision.

Some XRP community members allege that suspicious activities might be happening behind the scenes, thus preventing the judge from issuing the summary judgment ruling. For some of these XRP enthusiasts, the judge is probably working with the SEC to the detriment of Ripple.

Interestingly, Attorney Deaton has also seen some of these rumors making the rounds within the community.

“I keep seeing out there, people are now saying something nefarious is afoot because of the length um people are saying the judge is uh doing the bidding of the SEC,” he said. 

Deaton Disagrees With the Nefarious Rumors

According to Deaton, these rumors arise based on the growing frustration within the XRP community. Deaton noted that he understands people are frustrated that the judge is taking too long to rule.

However, he disagreed with the claim that something nefarious is happening behind the scenes of the Ripple lawsuit.

“This concept of anything nefarious going on is absolute nonsense from my perspective,” said Deaton.

Deaton Explains What’s Causing the Delay

The pro-XRP lawyer explained that the reason behind the judge’s delay in issuing the ruling was because of the amount of information she had to look at.

He added that the judge understands the significance of her decision to the crypto industry, and she does not want to make any mistakes. Additionally, Deaton said the amount of information Judge Torres needs to look at before ruling is “monumental.”

Per Deaton, the judge knows that if she rules in favor of the SEC, Ripple is prepared to appeal the ruling. He adds that the SEC vs. Ripple’s case will go to the Supreme Court if the latter appeals Judge Torres’ decision.

“If you’re the judge writing this brief knowing that the top justices in the United States of America and the second circuit are all going to be reviewing and deciphering every single word that you wrote, you might take your time,” he added.

Judge Torres Is Not on SEC’s Payroll 

Attorney Deaton also dispelled the widespread rumors that Judge Torres is on the SEC’s payroll, which requires her to do the commission’s bidding.

The pro-XRP lawyer explained that if Judge Torres worked for the SEC, she would not have ruled against the commission regarding Hinman’s emails.

“If she was corrupt, uh, and on the sec’s payroll, she would have never released the Hinman emails they fought so desperately to keep private,” attorney Deaton noted.

Recall that Judge Torres denied SEC’s motion to seal Hinman’s emails, the drafts of William Hinman’s June 2018 speech. As reported, Ripple released the documents on June 14, 2023, stirring much controversy within the crypto community.

The document shows that Hinman ignored the warnings of top SEC officials to give the controversial speech, where he declared ETH as a non-security.

Furthermore, the document also revealed that Hinman met with Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin a few days before the speech.