‘Hypocrisy:’ Judge denies SEC motion to keep Hinman docs secret in Ripple case

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has suffered a blow in its case against Ripple after a U. S. judge denied its claims for attorney-client privilege regarding internal documents related to the “Hinman speech.

” In denying the motion on Tuesday, U. S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn called out the SEC’s hypocrisy in arguing that the speech — in which a former official Bill Hinman suggested Ether ( ETH ) was not a security — was a personal matter for Hinman while also claiming it should be protected because he received legal advice from the SEC to confirm the commission’s policies: The draft of the Hinman speech, which the SEC has fought to keep under wraps, has been seen by many in the Ripple ( XRP ) community as a pivotal piece of evidence that could work in favor of Ripple Labs.

The SEC sued blockchain firm Ripple in late 2020 on allegations that senior executives Brad Garlinghouse and Christian Larsen sold Ripple’s XRP tokens as unregistered securities. However, Ripple has argued that the speech made by former director of the Division of Corporation Finance Bill Hinman in 2018 stated that Ether did not constitute “securities transactions” — contradicted the SEC’s stance on the matter. This was not even a nuanced opinion.

Judge Netburn tore apart every SEC argument for attorney-client privilege of the Hinman emails. That starts the 14 day clock for an appeal to Judge Torres. And if her recent Orders are any precedent, things will move relatively fast.

https://t. co/7k6KJx4Lea Barring any further appeals or delays, the ruling states that: “The documents must be produced. ” Related: Class action lawsuit claims Solana’s SOL is an unregistered security Delphi Digital’s general counsel Gabriel Shapiro called it a “big tactical win for Ripple” in a Tuesday tweet.

wow. big tactical win for Ripple. https://t.

co/oS4HRO1u2x Some believe that an appeal by the SEC is likely. Founder of crypto legal news outlet Crypto-Law John E Deaton told his 205,000 followers on Tuesday that the appeal, along with Ripple’s objection, would come within 30 days. He also believes the appeals judge will side with Judge Netburn’s recent ruling.

If there are no extensions granted, Judge Torres will have the SEC’s appeal and Ripple’s objection to the appeal in 30 Days. After Judge Torres upholds Judge Netburn’s decision, the SEC can ask Judge Torres to certify an appeal to the 2nd Circuit. She is likely to deny doing so.

https://t. co/HtMjbjk2OK The SEC continues to insist that Hinman’s speech was a “purely personal errand” that was not meant to offer legal advice. Judge Netburn acknowledged that this could potentially protect the drafts if Hinman were a private citizen.

However, Judge Netburn wrote that the commission also argued Hinman would not have had access to the information and resources if he were not already working at the SEC: If the contents of the speech documents are compelling enough, it could be a tipping point for Ripple in the case, which has been seen as potentially setting a precedent for other similar crypto token issuers. .