People exit the headquarters of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Washington, D.C.
Reuters

KEY POINTS

  • Deaton said Grewal "avoids testifying truthfully when he can"
  • The Crypto Law founder claimed Grewal misled Davison when asked if Hinman's speech was approved by the commission's ethics lawyer
  • Deaton's post making allegations against Grewal quoted another post saying the latter is "now a target of corruption probe"

Pro-XRP lawyer and Crypto Law founder John Deaton has made headlines anew for alleging that Gurbir Grewal, director of the enforcement division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), misled Cong. Warren Davidson of Ohio about William Hinman's speech.

Deaton, recipient of the prestigious Defender of Freedom Award for his role in championing the rights of cryptocurrency holders, claimed that Grewal "avoids testifying truthfully when he can."

The Crypto Law founder also alleged that the SEC director misled Davidson when he was asked if Hinman's speech was approved by the ethics lawyer at the commission.

"We know @SECEnfDirector @GurbirGrewalNJ avoids testifying truthfully when he can. He 💯 misled @WarrenDavidson when the Congressman asked him about the Hinman speech, and whether ethics' lawyers at the SEC approved the speech," Deaton wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, Wednesday.

Hinman served as the director of corporation finance at the SEC. In his now-infamous 2018 speech, which was delivered at the Yahoo Markets Summit, he said Ether (ETH) was not a security.

Hinman justified his statement by saying that Bitcoin (BTC) was "decentralized" and that ETH had become "sufficiently decentralized" over time.

The controversial speech gained popularity in the crypto industry after it was used by Ripple Labs to prove a point in its legal battle against the SEC.

Deaton's post quoted a Crypto Law post containing a link to a New Jersey Globe article titled "Senate GOP Seeks Subpoena Power to Probe Ties Between Menendez, Grewal."

The story is about the name of ex-New Jersey attorney general and current SEC enforcement director Grewal appearing in an indictment after prosecutors claimed Sen. Robert Menendez sought special treatment for a friend.

"BREAKING: @SECEnfDirector is now a target of corruption probe," Crypto Law's post read.

Mendez has been accused of accepting bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car from three New Jersey businessmen who sought the senator's help and influence over foreign affairs.

In the unsealed indictment, the U.S. Department of Justice disclosed that an official told the senator the request was not appropriate and disagreed with intervening. The said official was eventually confirmed to be Grewal.

Prosecutors claimed that Grewal met with Menedez in his office once but failed to disclose to the team prosecuting Jose Uribe that the senator had approached him in the past.

"Federal prosecutors claim that Menendez contacted Grewal in January 2019 to influence the prosecution of Jose Uribe, a businessman, allegedly in exchange for purchasing a $60,000 Mercedes convertible for the senator's wife, Nadine," the article read.

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