On May 31, Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn notified both the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple attorneys of a June 7 conference involving William Hinman’s speech-related documents. In the June 7 conference, Internal records relating to William Hinman, a former high-ranking SEC staffer, will be at the centre of the debate.
This looks to be an in-person only conference because no call-in information has been supplied. According to the sources, the SEC filed a second move in late April to keep the Hinman communications under wraps by alleging attorney-client privilege.
The SEC claims the records are protected because they contain secret correspondence between Hinman and SEC attorneys regarding the famous Ethereum speech, in which the former stated that the Ether currency was not a security. According to the SEC, Hinman was a client of SEC attorneys who provided him with legal assistance on the legal status of digital assets to ensure that his speech complied with federal securities laws. The SEC remarked that because courts have previously recognised government officials as customers, this should be the case this time.
The SEC emphasises that the draft of the speech must stay secret since the primary purpose of releasing them was to receive legal guidance. The court ordered in mid-January that the SEC must provide Hinman’s correspondence.
The regulator’s application for reconsideration of the deliberative process privilege (DPP) judgement was dismissed by the judge in early April. The judge concluded that the DPP won’t protect the personal opinions of the agency’s personnel.
