John Deaton Lambasts SEC for Bullying Elon Musk, Calls for Atkins to Clear the House

Key Takeaways

• John Deaton calls out the SEC for its bullying tactics, citing an Elon Musk lawsuit.
• Deaton claimed the SEC lawsuit against Ripple cost the company over $150 million in legal fees.
• The crypto lawyer called for the incoming SEC chief to clear the mess created by Gensler.

Crypto lawyer and Republican primary winner from Massachusetts, John E Deaton, took X to lambast the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for bullying Elon Musk.

In his X post, Deaton highlighted how the securities agency has used bullying tactics and lawsuit threats to charge hefty settlement fees.

Elon Musk Calls Out SEC’s Harassment 

In his X post , Deaton mentioned the ongoing legal battle between Elon Musk and the SEC. The SEC is investigating Musk for failing to report his 2022 acquisition of a substantial quantity of Twitter stock, which might have allowed him to acquire a part of the business at a reduced price.

The SEC accused Musk of profiting financially from delaying the announcement of the transactions because if investors had known he was purchasing shares, the price might have increased. 

Musk’s legal team claimed that the SEC had contacted him to settle the ongoing federal investigation into potential securities fraud related to his 2022 acquisition of Twitter (now X). Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, accuses the SEC of harassment and politically motivated actions.

Deaton cited Musk’s example, highlighting how the securities agency is bullying the world’s most prosperous businessmen.

“This is how the SEC acts towards the richest man in the world. Now imagine how they act towards small businesses and entrepreneurs who don’t have the vast resources Elon Musk has.”

The pro-crypto lawyer claimed that the SEC threatened to bankrupt Jeremy Kauffman and LBRY during the investigation stage before filing suit. 

SEC Lawsuit Cost Ripple $150 Million in Litigation

Deaton noted that Ripple spent over $150 million in legal charges fighting a “NON-FRAUD, failure to register case.”

Deaton cited several other cases in which crypto companies succumbed to the SEC’s demands due to a lack of funds to fight the legal battle. 

The crypto lawyer who played a key role in the SEC said he hoped the incoming SEC chief, Paul Atkins, would “clean house.”

President-Elect Donald Trump has appointed pro-crypto Atkins as the new SEC chief, and the crypto community is hopeful of a change in the new government and leadership tides.

Gensler is often called the worst agency chief in its history due to his reckless approach to crypto companies. During his tenure, Gensler led the SEC to charge over a dozen crypto companies and collect over $4.5 billion in fines.