SEC Lawyers Urge Judge To Bar, Revoke Amicus Status Of Crypto Law Founder In Ripple Case

The lawyers of the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) slightly deviated from the agency's main focus when they went after one of the strongest supporters of Ripple Labs Inc and requested that the judge bar him and revoke his amicus status in the ongoing legal battle between the financial regulator and the cryptocurrency company.

Crypto Law founder John Deaton, who is also known as one of the most vocal advocates since Ripple Labs was sued by the SEC a couple of years ago, seemingly earned the ire of the lawyers of the financial regulator that they submitted a new request to the judge early this week.

In the latest update, it appeared that the SEC, through its lawyers, tried to get Judge Analisa Torres to bar Deaton from participating in the ongoing legal battle partly because he allegedly disclosed the name of the regulator's expert witness.

Interestingly, the judge not only denied the lawyers' request but also agreed that the expert witness of the regulator should not be allowed to testify about XRP holders.

Deaton reacted to the update Tuesday by sarcastically tweeting, "They literally asked the Judge to revoke my amicus status over my motion asking permission to file an amicus brief challenging this so-called XRPHolder Expert," adding that "these Ivy League SEC Lawyers aren't the best poker players I take it."

The latest move made by the lawyers of the SEC and the outright rejection of the judge to their proposal is a major win for Deaton, as many look at the regulator's action as a desperate move.

While it is true that Deaton is not part of Ripple's legal team, his role has greatly helped the community since he would provide explanations of what was going on in the court aside from occasionally filing amicus briefs as a friend of the court.

This role in the community could be the major reason why the SEC found him threatening and decided to go after him.

Before the SEC lawyers made their move against Deaton, he and 12,600 XRP holders filed an unusual and improbable motion to intervene, which could allow the holders to join the lawsuit by passing off as actual defendants.

The SEC is still cracking down on various crypto businesses and companies, particularly those allegedly issuing tokens that the regulator considered as securities.

Deaton has a solution to this, and he even encouraged the crypto community to come together and come up with a strategic plan.

"We must think out of the box and organize. For example, all companies in active litigation with the SEC, or about to be, should be meeting, sharing ideas and developing coordinated strategies. It's a war. I'd be happy to help. Maybe I can replace @elonmusk as the SEC's most hated," the Crypto Law founder said in a tweet Sunday.

In another post, he wrote that "the industry must unite and coordinate fighting back — both defensively and offensively."

He added that "any existing asset can be packaged, marketed, offered and sold as an investment contract. Other than an ICO scenario, the SEC does not have the law on its side."