It seems that Ripple (XRP) has won another big victory in the infamous lawsuit with the American Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Judge Analisa Torres has ruled that the SEC must release documents written by former SEC chief William Hinman. These documents are about a speech that Hinman gave which, according to Ripple, proves their innocence in the case.
Ripple lawsuit
Ripple has been involved in a lawsuit with the SEC for nearly two years. US regulator accuses Ripple of selling XRP tokens as security, or effect, without having the necessary licenses for this. Ripple, however, denies that XRP is a security and thus claims to be innocent.
In 2018, William Hinman was the Corporation Finance Division Director at the SEC and in a speech he spoke about cryptocurrencies such as ethereum (ETH), and whether such cryptocurrencies as securities can be seen. The latter, of course, is at the heart of the lawsuit between the SEC and Ripple.
Hinman indicated at the time that he did not believe that ethereum was a security. Since then, Ripple has obviously tried to use Hinman’s speech as evidence in the lawsuit, but this has been blocked by the SEC each time. Earlier, another judge, Sarah Netburn, indicated that the SEC had to hand over documentsbut the SEC appealed.
This seems to have done little. The judge now again agrees with Ripple and orders the SEC to actually hand over the documents. A big victory for Ripple, which significantly increases the chance of a verdict in Ripple’s favor. Hinman’s speech is seen as crucial piece of evidence by the Ripple camp.
Judge Torres agreed with Judge Netburn on EVERY single issue related to the HINMAN EMAILS.
Relevance: Check
Attorney Client Privilege: Check
DPP: CheckSome days I’m proud of this profession.#TurnOverTheEmails https://t.co/KoGrgm953S
— Jeremy Hogan (@attorneyjeremy1) September 29, 2022
Victory for Ripple?
The judge found that the SEC not enough valid reasons agreed to withhold the documents, including emails and drafts, related to Hinman’s speech.
The judge’s ruling also means that Hinman may be called as a witness in the lawsuit. Whether it will come to that is unknown. Not long ago, both parties had a motion to summary judgment submitted to the court. Such a motion requires the judge to make a decision as soon as possible.
Who knows, we may see a final end to the infamous lawsuit in 2022.
