Pro-XRP lawyer and Massachusetts Senate Candidate John Deaton criticizes U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and SEC Chair Gary Gensler over their inconsistent anti-crypto agenda.
Attorney Deaton slammed Senator Warren for not questioning SEC Chair Gary Gensler about his private meetings with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), whom he called the Bernie Madoff of crypto.
“Elizabeth Warren is anti-crypto, yet she hasn’t asked SEC Chair Gary Gensler about his private meetings with FTX founder SBF,” Deaton remarked during a recent Good Morning Crypto podcast interview.
🚨 BREAKING: 🇺🇸 JOHN DEATON EXPOSES ELIZABETH WARREN & GARY GENSLER’S ANTI-CRYPTO AGENDA! 🚨
“We learned in the Ripple case, we got some of the emails between the different SEC folks where they were saying things like ‘we would rather have it vague’, ‘ if we saying something… pic.twitter.com/HhfMceQSeB
— Good Morning Crypto (@AbsGMCrypto) September 23, 2024
The pro-XRP lawyer asked why the SEC Chair has not released the notes of the private meetings with SBF.
Notably, the top lawyer suggested that the Senator and Gensler could be protecting SBF, given that the FTX founder was the second-biggest donor to the Democratic Party in the last election.
Both Warren and Gensler have been vocal in criticizing the crypto industry as fraudulent. However, they have failed to maintain the same energy against a close associate like SBF.
Deaton Wants to Ask Gensler Important Questions
Notably, Deaton expressed interest in serving in three U.S. Senate Committees if he wins the upcoming November election. First, he disclosed his ambition to serve on the Veteran Committee, emphasizing that he wishes to push for fair treatment of U.S. veterans.
Attorney Deaton also aims to be a member of the Senate Ethics Committee. According to him, there is a need to establish ethics in the United States government to rebuild public trust and faith.
Lastly, Deaton emphasized that if he defeats Senator Warren in November, he plans to replace the experienced senator in the Senate Banking Committee. Interestingly, Deaton noted that his inclusion in the Banking Committee would allow him to ask Gensler a few important questions.
It bears mentioning that this committee oversees the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Consequently, Deaton’s potential membership as a Senate Banking Committee member would enable him to hold the SEC, especially Gensler, accountable for his unclear crypto regulations.
SEC Likes It Vague
When asked whether he would be transparent about the hidden details of Ethereum’s free pass speech if elected Massachusetts senator, Deaton answered in the affirmative.
He recounted the SEC’s internal discussions that led to William Hinman’s infamous Ethereum 2018 free pass speech, in which he declared ETH a non-security.
According to Deaton, the document showed that the SEC officials kicked against the speech due to concerns that it could hinder the commission’s ability to pursue enforcement actions against Ethereum in the future.
“They were saying things like ‘we rather have it vague.’ ‘If we say something about Ethereum, it will limit our ability to go after them,’” Deaton added.
The U.S. Senate candidate emphasized that the SEC supports vague regulations because it allows the agency to continue its regulation by enforcement agenda.
Hinman Violated Conflict Statute
Furthermore, Deaton emphasized that Hinman violated the financial criminal conflict statute, suggesting that Empower Oversight uncovered this fact in its litigation against the SEC.
Notably, the lawyer said the SEC OIG (Office of Inspector General) department is currently investigating conflicts of interest related to Ethereum’s free-pass speech.
“The investigation is in the last stage of the report. So it would be interesting to see what comes out,” he added.
As reported earlier, Hinman had several meetings with his former employer, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, while heading the SEC’s Corporation Finance division. Simpson Thacher is a member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA), an organization focused on marketing Ethereum as an enterprise solution.
Most of these meetings were held while Hinman drafted the Ethereum free pass speech. This coincidence has raised speculations that Hinman could have been influenced to give Ethereum a pass while the broader crypto market suffers intense scrutiny from the SEC.
