The proprietor of the Deaton Law Firm in East Providence, Rhode Island, and American attorney John Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1 on Twitter), who has been watching and commenting on the SEC’s action against Ripple, revealed to Fox Business on Wednesday, July 20, why the SEC is upset with him.
Deaton is also the creator of the YouTube channel CryptoLaw and the host of the website CryptoLaw, which “was founded in 2021 to be a repository of information, news, and analysis on major U.S. legal and regulatory events for digital asset holders.”
You might recall that the SEC stated on December 22, 2020, that it had “filed an action against Ripple Labs Inc. and two of its executives, who are also significant security holders, alleging that they raised over $1.3 billion through an ongoing, unregistered offering of digital asset securities.” In essence, the SEC contends that XRP is security defined by federal securities regulations in the United States.
In a letter dated June 7 and sent to U.S. District Judge Hon. Analisa Torres, the SEC’s New York Regional Office, stated that it “opposes six XRP investors’ motion to file an amicus brief challenging the opinions of one of the SEC’s experts.” The SEC continued by requesting that this motion be denied and that “Deaton be prohibited from any further participation in these proceedings” by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
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John Deaton says SEC will lose the Lawsuit
Deaton made his remarks when speaking with Fox Business Senior Correspondent Charlie Gasparino on the program “The Claman Countdown” (which is hosted by Liz Claman).
Gasparino was curious about the cause of the SEC’s outrage over Deaton.
Deaton answered:
These are crazy times. In a YouTube video I made, I sarcastically mock-cross-examined former chairman Clayton while incorporating elements from “My Cousin Vinny.”
And because of some harsh criticism, I tweeted on Twitter. They informed the judge I shouldn’t be given amicus status. She disregarded those opinions, awarded me amicus status, and lo and behold. They now insist that I be removed from the case.
In a later exchange, Gasparino claimed that the SEC was “losing the case,” and he questioned Deaton about the next move.
Deaton declared:
“Summary judgments are due the next month. Each side aims to win completely at that point. Charlie, you’re right. The judge makes the final decision, or she may rule that the jury must consider specific reasons. A lot is on the line because the SEC has stated that anyone selling XRP in the US violates section 5 due to the token itself, not simply the method Ripple sells it. Therefore, every cryptocurrency on the market, including Ethereum, would be up for grabs if the SEC were to get its way and declare XRP security, the token itself.
JUST ADDED to #CryptoLawTV:
Full clip of @JohnEDeaton1 on @FoxBusiness this afternoon with @LizClaman and @CGasparino 👇https://t.co/dRzDU8IkNw— CryptoLaw (@CryptoLawUS) July 20, 2022
After the interview, Deaton stated that the SEC must receive his response by Monday (July 25) and that “hopefully, the court within a week will deliver a decision.”
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