🌋 Court Questions Coinbase's Pursuit of Gensler's Emails
posted 12 Jul 2024
Federal Judge Katherine Polk Failla has advised the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase not to seek access to the personal correspondence of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, particularly those messages sent before his appointment. She characterized the request as inappropriate but allowed formal proceedings to begin.
I imagined that there was something I was missing. Let me note that counsel on both sides is very smart, very clever, they’re all very clever people…but I was kind of surprised and not in a good way. I found the arguments at least as articulated in the July 3rd response to border on the fatuous,she added.
Coinbase initially requested these materials in April 2024 but faced a categorical refusal from the Commission, which led them to bring the matter to court. The platform's legal team argues that access to these emails is justified by Gensler’s role as a leading regulator.
The SEC’s defense counters that all requested materials related to the chairman are irrelevant to the case, as Gensler is not even listed as a witness. They warn that granting such a request could set a concerning precedent for future legal proceedings.
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