Plaintiff Goes “Completely” Out to Stop Release of Hinman Emails

According to updates shared by defense lawyer James K. Filan in the Ripple lawsuit, the SEC seems to be going “completely all out” in its quest to prevent the release of former SEC official William Hinman’s internal documents.

#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP The SEC has filed the complete package of its Objections to Magistrate Judge Netburn’s Ruling compelling the SEC to turn over the Hinman speech documents, including the Declaration of Ladan Stewart and the Exhibits.https://t.co/wZbWESUwjm

— James K. Filan ???? 106k (beware of imposters) (@FilanLaw) July 27, 2022

Filan wrote: “The SEC has filed the complete package of its Objections to Magistrate Judge Netburn’s Ruling compelling the SEC to turn over the Hinman speech documents, including the Declaration of Ladan Stewart and the Exhibits.”

The agency continues to claim that the Hinman documents contain private internal correspondence that is irrelevant to the lawsuit.

It further states: “Even if they were relevant, the speech drafts contain confidential deliberations and legal advice protected by the deliberative process privilege (“DPP”) and the attorney-client privilege. These privileges serve important public interests.”

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Earlier, the SEC’s motion for partial reconsideration was denied, and the motion for clarification was granted. Then, Magistrate Judge Netburn ruled that the Hinman documents were not protected by DPP but then permitted the SEC to identify any of those documents that the SEC claimed were protected by attorney-client privilege. The SEC filed a motion claiming that most of the documents were protected by attorney-client privilege, which Judge Netburn denied.

According to the updated schedule shared by James K. Filan, the Ripple defendants have until Aug. 9 to file their response to the SEC objections. District Judge Torres is also allowing the SEC to file a reply brief, which is due no later than Aug. 16. Then the matter will be fully briefed and decided by Judge Torres.

Ripple General Counsel takes aim at SEC’s crypto regulation stance

Great insight from former Rep. Todd Tiahrt in @realclearpolicy – “The @SEC has manipulated the absence of regulatory clarity of blockchain technology to justify going beyond its authority.” https://t.co/8esHUIcHhk

— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) July 26, 2022

Ripple’s General Counsel has taken sides with Former Rep. Todd Tiahrt on SEC’s crypto regulation stance: “Great insight from former Rep. Todd Tiahrt in RealClearPolitics — The SEC has manipulated the absence of regulatory clarity of blockchain technology to justify going beyond its authority.”

According to Todd Tiarht: “The SEC’s biggest crypto lawsuit to date, for example, is the non-fraud lawsuit filed in December 2020 against Ripple Labs, noting that it turned out to be a miscalculation by the SEC” given Ripple’s size and the soundness of its legal team.