Hinman Speech Docs Expected Public by June 6: Defense Attorney

Hinman Speech Documents Expected to be Unsealed by June 6, According to Defense Attorney

Defense attorney James K. Filan anticipates that the infamous Hinman Speech documents will be made public by June 6, based on a previous court order. These documents pertain to a speech delivered in 2018 by former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) corporation finance division director Bill Hinman, in which he indicated that Ether (ETH) was not a security. The Hinman documents encompass internal discussions and deliberations within the SEC surrounding this speech.

Filan shared an update on the potential unsealing of the documents via a Twitter thread on May 17. Referring to a court order from September 12, 2022, he mentioned that the parties involved have 21 days to submit public, redacted versions of the Summary Judgment documents in accordance with the sealing ruling. The 21-day period ends on June 6, as per Filan's calculation.

However, this timeline may be affected if the SEC decides to appeal or if the case moves toward a settlement, according to Jeremy Hogan, a lawyer closely monitoring the proceedings. The SEC has roughly 10 days to file an appeal in response to this particular order.

XRP Community Speculates Unsealed Hinman Documents Could Prompt Settlement as Ripple CEO Urges Public Availability, SEC Motion Denied

Members of the XRP community, such as @AshleyPROSPER1, speculate that the unsealing of the documents could motivate both sides to seek a settlement, as they may possess information they prefer to keep out of the public eye.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, in a Twitter post on May 16, expressed his desire for the unredacted Hinman emails to be made "publicly available soon." While Ripple Labs already has access to the documents, it considers this aspect crucial to its defense against the SEC's allegations that XRP should be classified as a security.

The SEC initially filed a motion in late December to seal the documents, arguing that their relevance to the final outcome of the case was minimal and that the SEC's mission outweighed the public's right to access them. However, on May 16, the motion was officially denied, marking a victory for Ripple Labs. 

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