Thread by @JohnEDeaton1

WHAT IS A CONTINGENT SETTLEMENT OFFER MEAN IN THE SEC vs RIPPLE CASE?
First, in order to understand, think about a criminal case for a minute. Let’s say the defendant is facing 25 years to life for attempted murder. A contingent plea bargain can be made by his defense attorney

https://twitter.com/JohnEDeaton1/status/1360378807493013504

to the prosecutor. The defense attorney could inform the prosecutor that the defendant will plead guilty contingent on the prosecutor agreeing that he will not have to serve more than 5 years in prison. If the prosecutor agrees, there is a deal and the defendant pleads guilty.

This type of plea bargain or settlement happens all the time. If it didn’t, the criminal justice system would come to a screeching halt. Both sides get certainty, and, arguably, justice take place. In the civil courts it’s not called a plea bargain, but, instead, it’s called a

settlement. A contingent settlement offer is basically the same thing as a plea bargain offer. The defendants will agree to settle IF the SEC agrees to certain conditions, such as, a waiver. For example, @Ripple and @bgarlinghouse and @chrislarsensf could offer to settle and pay

a certain sum of money 💰 for sales of #XRP between 2013-2017 if the @SEC_Enforcement agrees to give a waiver for all other sales including a waiver for future sales of #XRP. Another example contingent settlement offer could be that they will agree to pay 💰 for certain

transactions but only if the SEC provides regulatory clarity on #XRP going forward by declaring it a non-security. Acting Chairwoman Herron Lee’s policy is to reject all contingent settlement offers and take a much harder line. Her approach is akin to a criminal prosecutor saying

to a defendant “you can
go ahead and plead guilty but you get sentenced to prison for an amount of time we believe is appropriate.” Her approach IS NOT what’s in the best interest of investors. @HesterPeirce and Elad Roisman completely disagree and believe that contingent

settlement offers are an
essential tool in achieving fair outcomes that do protect investors. What’s messed up and ironic is that when I filed the Writ of Mandamus I filed it against Elad because he was the then Acting Chairman and I had him personally served with the Petition.

@HesterPeirce please give Acting Chairwoman Herron Lee a message. Tell her she should lead by example and come argue the Writ of Mandamus against me in Rhode Island Federal Court. She can also defend the class action we file the first week of June. The only people her policy

helps are the lawyers and law firms that practice securities laws. I’m completely speculating but it’s hard not to believe that these conflicting policy statements are not related to the Ripple case.