The Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn has directed the US Securities and Exchange Commission to submit all proposed redactions for in-camera review. The SEC is required to file them by April 8.
The judge determined in her Jan. 13 ruling that the deliberative process privilege (DPP) does not apply to certain sets of notes because gathering facts from third parties is not always a privileged activity. Because none of the notes contain attorney-client communications, that is why they are not exempt from production. The judge did, however, allow the SEC to redact portions of the notes that reflect the staff’s own “deliberations or communications.”
The plaintiff filed a motion in late March, specifically asking the judge to allow redacting some of the notes taken during some meetings with third parties. One of the meetings was with Stanford Law School Professor Joseph Grundfest, who discussed Bitcoin’s regulatory status. The former Ronald Reagan-appointed SEC commissioner advised the regulator to take enforcement action against Ripple, citing the risk to XRP holders.
One of the meetings in question was also about the legal status of initial coin offerings, which were hugely popular in 2017 before collapsing in a big way the following year.
Ripple, as per the report, stated that it would not contest any of the proposed redactions, but it reserved the right to the notes.
The judge will review the handwritten notes in private, which means that defendants or other parties will not be able to see the unredacted documents.
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