Ripple vs SEC : The Case Gets A New Twist As SEC Claims Hinman Was A Client

The long-running legal battle between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States and Ripple is still going on.

A fresh meeting between the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Ripple attorneys has been arranged. This is done by Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn to consider further allegations of attorney-client privilege.

Confidential records relating to William Hinman, a former SEC official, will be at the center of the debate. As per the reports, the SEC filed a second move in late April to keep the Hinman communications under wraps by alleging attorney-client privilege

Ripple vs SEC Case Gets Intense

The SEC claims the records were in preserve because they contain sensitive discussions between Hinman and SEC attorneys. Bill Hinman, SEC employee at the time, at the Fintech Week Conference in June 2018 that ETH was not “securities”

Ripple’s stance that XRP is not a security was due to support of the testimony. Because XRP is a means of exchange for both local and foreign transactions, the SEC, according to Ripple, cannot regulate it as a security.

Hinman Was A Client Not Employee

Hinman was a client of SEC attorneys, according to the agency. They provided him with legal assistance on digital asset’s legal status as his speech complied with federal securities laws. The SEC claims that because courts have previously recognized government officials as customers, this should be the case this time.

As per SEC, the scripts of the speech must stay secret. Because the main aim to release them was to receive legal guidance. There was a denial of regulator’s application for review of the deliberative process privilege (DPP) judgment by the judge in early April. The judge is of the opinion that DPP did not protect the agency’s employees’ personal opinions.

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