The Securities and Exchange Commission remains adamant, while requesting that portions of the proceeding be quashed or even canceled. The agency maintains its concern for the expert’s life and points to a well-known lawyer as a public provocateur.
SEC doesn’t give up
This past week, in an article titled: “Another win for Ripple – Judge Analisa Torres rejects SEC’s motion to quash objection to Amici’s participation”, we reported on the upcoming expert hearing. The battle between Ripple and the SEC, however, is not over yet.
The SEC remains adamant in its views. They suggest that the hearing of expert Patrick Doody, may lead to unspecified movements on the part of XRP investors. The same people who have been losing value on their investment since the beginning of the legal proceedings. The agency thus pointed out that 11 of the 17 submitted attachments should not be made public by the court, as they could even threaten Doody’s life.
As a result, Ripple along with the SEC held a meeting to discuss which of the attachments can be made public and which should be made confidential.
As the agency states in an official release:
“The SEC recognizes that the proposed redactions in opposition and sealing of the 11 attachments are narrowly tailored to the higher value of protecting witness safety in light of the likelihood that past harassment and threats will continue in the absence of such steps.”
John Deaton indicted
The SEC’s attitude is fueled by the opinion of its representatives, indicating that the lawyer John Deaton, through Twitter made public certain information about Doody, which the SEC intended to keep secret.
The official letter reads:
“Although some of the information the SEC seeks to seal has already been made public by petitioners’ attorney, John Deaton, the SEC requests that these and other materials be sealed to prevent further threats and harassment of the SEC’s expert.”
The agency continues:
“Any additional disclosure of information about the expert or his opinions, including disclosure of materials that are already in the public domain, will lead to additional threats and harassment of the expert.”
Hogan in defense of Deaton
Meanwhile Jeremy Hogen, another attorney familiar with the Ripple vs. SEC case, points out that Deaton has every right to express his opinion about the SEC expert witness. In his view, it is ludicrous for the agency to interpret the attorney’s comment as a threat, or harassment, likely to further fuel the anger of the XRP community.
The decision to withhold or make public the expert testimony therefore remains with Judge Analisa Torres.
