John E Deaton, a outstanding lawyer known for representing XRP holders and vocalizing his criticisms of Jay Clayton’s tenure because the SEC Chairman, recently took to Twitter to spotlight what he believes to be glaring conflicts of interest surrounding the SEC’s enforcement motion against Ripple, its CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and co-founder Chris Larsen.

Deaton tweeted, “When the XRP case was filed on Clayton’s last day in charge on the SEC, I immediately identified the huge conflicts of interest by him voting to bring an enforcement motion against Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen.”

This tweet is available in the wake of a statement made by Brian Costello, who lambasted the SEC’s role in allegedly concealing financial misdeeds connected to Chinese executives.

Costello remarked that under each Clayton and current chairman Gary Gensler’s leadership, the SEC can have missed potential misdemeanors tied to specific Chinese business magnates, singling out Neil Shen from Sequoia.

Costello stated:

The SEC’s role in hiding Chinese executives, like Neil Shen from Sequoia, and other US capital market crimes has played a big role in normalizing China’s frauds. Gary Gensler and Jay Clayton, you had a chance to prioritize our nation’s defenders, but your personal interests prevailed.

The Hidden Agenda By Clayton And Gensler

Peeling back the layers of skilled entanglements, Deaton unveiled potential biases arising from Clayton’s affiliations. He underscored Clayton’s association with Patrick Berarducci of the celebrated Sullivan & Cromwell law firm. Intriguingly, Berarducci had also served as Deputy GC at Consensys, a pivotal entity within the Ethereum ecosystem, and as Co-Chair of The Brooklyn Project.

Highlighting these intricate connections, Deaton noted, “Certainly one of Clayton’s partners at Sullivan & Cromwell, Patrick Berarducci, was deputy general counsel at Consensys and co-chair of The Brooklyn Project, which claimed to be constructing an alliance with the SEC related to crypto.”

As Deaton highlights, other lawyers from Sullivan & Cromwell also went to work at Consensys. Furthermore, the law firm not only represented Ethereum’s Consensys but “also brokered the deal when Consensys acquired JP Morgan’s Quorum and the JPMCoin. Clayton & Hinman, together with Hinman’s partner Leming Chen, brought the Alibaba IPO to market. Simpson Thacher’s Chen went to Alipay.”

Further complicating matters, Deaton draws attention to the spirited rivalry between cryptocurrencies, underscoring the extraordinary competition between XRP and ETH. He reminisces, “XRP & ETH battled one another for the #2 spot behind BTC for years.”

Such rivalries, when juxtaposed against Clayton’s skilled affiliations, beget concerns of impartiality in enforcement decisions involving Ripple. The lawsuit against Ripple can have set the corporate back years – a head start that will have yielded major benefits for Consensus and Ethereum.

Difficult Clayton’s actions head-on, Deaton asserted, “At his confirmation, Clayton agreed he can be conflicted from voting AGAINST an enforcement motion involving one in every of S&C’s clients. But, paradoxically, he voted FOR an motion AGAINST Ripple, a formidable adversary of his law firm’s client.”

Pro-XRP Lawyer Uncovers More Ties

Deaton doesn’t stop there though. He delves into Clayton’s affiliations post-SEC, emphasizing his association with entities like Apollo Group and One River, which have substantial stakes in cryptocurrencies. Most notably, Deaton identified, “Clayton joined One River after it made a $1B bet on BTC & ETH, the one two Crypto assets given regulatory clarity by Hinman’s speech.”

Furthermore, Deaton doesn’t hold back on William Hinman, former director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, suggesting infractions and conflicts during his term. As Bitcoinist reported, William Hinman is within the crosshairs of the XRP community for his documented strong ties to Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Lubin prior to his famous speech.

Expounding further, Deaton accentuates potential collusion, indicating a gathering between Clayton and Gensler, his successor. He provocatively ponders, “Why would you file a case of this magnitude in your last day after which leave it for the following administration to take care of? Or was this a coordinated effort?”

At press time, XRP traded at $0.5236.

Featured image from Medium, chart from TradingView.com