John Deaton reacted to video from a congressional hearing where Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy questioned SEC Chairman Gary Gensler about his interactions with FTX. Attorney John Deaton called what was going on “acting” because, in the lawyer’s opinion, Senator Kennedy was asking all the wrong questions.
“These elected officials are just dancing for the public. Kennedy knows that Gensler met with Sam Bankman-Fried.. Why not ask Gensler if he was close to some sort of short-term deal with Bankman-Fried, as rumored?” the lawyer is outraged.
John Deaton was referring to rumors that before the collapse of FTX, its founder, Bankman-Fried, and Gensler were in cahoots – the SEC chairman could protect the exchange from regulatory scrutiny. Earlier this year, Republicans launched an investigation into Gensler’s role in the arrest of the former FTX chief.
The attorney also wondered why the senator didn’t ask, whether Gensler was going to turn over emails, correspondence and all information related to those meetings to authorities. Deaton is concerned that the agency has chosen to focus on litigation with the LBRY platform and Ripple, which are not related to the fraudulent activity. Instead, the regulator could investigate massive fraud in the cryptocurrency market, similar to the “pump and dump” schemes.
Recently, influential cryptocurrency lawyer John Deaton urged lawmakers to pass a securities clarity bill as soon as possible that would clearly define: when crypto assets may not fall into this category. According to the attorney, cryptocurrency companies would then be protected from the SEC.