Ripple Labs’ request to access the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) non-public policies regarding agency employees buying and selling XRP and other cryptocurrencies was granted by the appointed judge, according to XRP holders’ legal representative.
Meanwhile, Ripple’s lawyer claims the SEC intends to file a motion and quash the company’s deposition subpoena served on a former SEC official.
SEC’s internal employee policies
Back in March, John E. Deaton, a lawyer for 11,000 XRP holders, who filed a motion to intervene in Ripple’s legal battle with the SEC as third-party defendants, revealed a portion of the latest court document in a tweet.
BREAKING: Judge Netburn orders SEC to produce internal policies governing employees’ trading in, or purchase or sale of digital assets, which the SEC has refused to do until now. (1/3) See the “text-only” order referring to this matter here 👇 pic.twitter.com/az3n9eQS8h
— CryptoLaw (@CryptoLawUS) June 23, 2021
Ripple sought access to the SEC’s “policies governing SEC employees’ trading in, or purchase or sale of, Digital Assets and/or Virtual Currencies, including all changes and updates to those policies,” which the Commission refused to reveal, arguing the sought out information is irrelevant.
Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn, who is presiding over discovery in the legal case granted the request, stating it “meets the low bar for relevance, including potentially with respect to the claims against the Individual Defendants.”
Her ruling also states that the SEC already began to produce documents related to Ripple’s earlier requests for internal agency communications about Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and XRP from the Commission’s FinHub electronic mailbox as well as its Office of Investor Education Advocacy external communications and internal documents.
Mysterious former SEC member
According to the company’s legal representative, James K. Filan, the SEC announced the intention to file a letter motion to quash a deposition subpoena served on a former Commission official.
Doubt it is jay Clayton, he wouldn’t tell the truth. It’s probably a Former SEC official they let go, who would be willing to tell the truth about the SECs real motives behind the case. It must be damaging to the SEC, that’s why they want to prevent it.
— Crypto Mark Ⓥ / ⒾⒸⓍ (@MarkCrypto8) June 22, 2021
As the identity of the subpoenaed official is still unrevealed, one can only speculate how damaging to the SEC could this testimony under oath be?
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