Ripple case: SEC Hinman docs could become public by June 6, lawyer suggests

Defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor, James K. Filan, expects the infamous Hinman Speech documents to be released to the public by June 6, citing a previous court order.

The Hinman documents relate to a 2018 speech from former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) corporation finance division director Bill Hinman, who essentially stated that Ether (ETH) was not a security. The documents involve the SEC’s internal discussion and deliberations around this speech.

In a May 17 Twitter thread, Filan, who has been actively following the SEC vs Ripple case over the past couple of years, provided an update on when the documents could be unsealed to the public.

“According to the Court’s 9/12/2022 Order, the parties have 21 days to file public, redacted versions of Summary Judgment documents consistent with the sealing ruling. June 6th is 21 days from yesterday’s ruling,” he wrote.

#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP Update on timing regarding when we should see the documents ordered unsealed. According to the Court’s 9/12/2022 Order, the parties have 21 days to file public, redacted versions of Summary Judgment documents consistent with the sealing… pic.twitter.com/doV5fUxDG5

— James K. Filan (@FilanLaw) May 17, 2023

Some, however, believe the stated timeline could be impacted should the SEC file an appeal or the case goes into a settlement. 

Another lawyer following the case, Jeremy Hogan, partner at Hogan & Hogan, noted the SEC has roughly 10 days to file an appeal to this specific order.

Others in the XRP community, such as @AshleyPROSPER1, believes that the prospect of the documents being unsealed could spur either side to pursue a settlement, as they both may have information that they would not like the public to get their hands on.

A Twitter post by Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse on May 16 however suggests they are keen to see the unredacted Hinman emails to be “publicly available soon.”

Another win for transparency! Unredacted Hinman emails to be publicly available soon – stay tuned as the lawyers work through the mechanics to make that happen. https://t.co/o6puPypRHd https://t.co/qmaLVeQaP8

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) May 16, 2023

While Ripple Labs already has long had access to the documents, it views this aspect of the case as an important piece of evidence in its defense against the SEC and its assertions that XRP falls under the classification of a security.

Related: Ripple acquires Swiss blockchain custody firm Metaco for $250M

The SEC filed a motion in late December to seal the documents from the public, arguing that the documents hold “no relevance” to the final outcome of the case, along with the SEC’s mission outweighing the “public’s right” to access the documents.

Ripple Labs notched a win this week after the motion officialy was denied on May 16.

1. Yes

2. The SEC has 10 days to move for reconsideration so I assume Ripple is asking them about that today…if the answer is “we are not” then they could be released sooner I imagine.

— Jeremy Hogan (@attorneyjeremy1) May 17, 2023

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