Thread by @JohnEDeaton1

I saw the 👇 video and then ran into this sign. Who is Canaan? A #BTC & #ETH mining ⛏️ company that went public. Who brought the IPO? Simpson Thacher - Bill Hinman’s law firm. What was Hinman’s position at the time his firm made these huge fees? Director of Corporation Finance.

https://twitter.com/scottmelker/status/1659496457504710657

Hinman must’ve took precautions to avoid any conflict, right? Wrong!

Look at the👇 emails. On the SAME DAY a letter goes out from Hinman’s Division, Hinman agrees to MEET his partner at Simpson Thacher. I’m sure that’s a coincidence. Some might be thinking: What’s the big deal?

Then you should look at these👇 emails. BEFORE that meeting w/his partner who was bringing the Canaan IPO, Hinman was told that he would be in violation of the CRIMINAL financial conflict laws (18 USC 208) if he even emailed or called his law partners - LET ALONE meet with them.

The reason is simple: Hinman was NOT simply a retiree meeting w/ his old co-workers. He was an ONGOING PROFIT SHARING PARTNER. The more fees his partners earned the more money Hinman made. The man was making 💰 from IPOs and other fees earned by Simpson Thacher WHILE AT the SEC!

Let’s not forget, a year earlier Hinman gave a very UNUSUAL speech where he declared #BTC and #ETH non-securities. We can only describe it as UNUSUAL considering prior to the speech and ever since thereafter EVERYONE at the SEC claims it’s inappropriate to discuss specific tokens

That speech was pretty good news for Canaan and Simpson Thacher and ALL of its PARTNERS (including the ongoing type). It was also great news for #ETH and the members of the #EEA - a group where all members agree to promote the EXCLUSIVE enterprise use of the Ethereum Blockchain.

In case you didn’t know: Simpson Thacher was a member of the #EEA AT THE TIME of Hinman’s speech. I’m sure that’s just another coincidence, right?

I’ve stated that I’ll bet a million dollars Hinman claims he didn’t know about the #EEA membership when he gave his speech.

You see, he has to. When Hinman comes out and eventually speaks on it, I guarantee he attempts to trivialize it (i.e. it was like signing up for Forbes Crypto or other memberships/subscriptions - no big deal).

He must b/c if he knew about it, he admits to violating the law.

Remember when @WarrenDavidson asked @SECEnfDirector if Hinman’s Speech was screened and approved by Ethics? Remember how @GippyGrewal misled Congress by saying the issue was being litigated so he was prevented from answering? 👇

https://twitter.com/jumpmanfiend/status/1640012490418298883

Why wouldn’t @GippyGrewal answer that simple question? I’ve read every document filed in the @Ripple case. There was no litigation regarding whether Hinman’s speech was screened or cleared by the Ethics division.

Here’s the speech distribution list: No one from Ethics is on it!

If that wasn’t enough, I could bring up how Hinman met w/the #ETH founders & investors 6-8 times between Dec 13, 2017 and June 8, 2018. After meeting w/those founders/investors at least one X per month for 6 months straight, Hinman went on #CNBC and said this: 👇

https://twitter.com/jumpmanfiend/status/1646325864861237250

For only a personal speech, Hinman uses the word “we” a lot.

He actually said that when they looked at #ETH, they didn’t see any 3rd party promoters. Then why did he meet w/the founders/investors so many times? Did it take 8 meetings to believe @VitalikButerin had little input?

I could discuss how on March 26, 2018 he was sent a memo written by Perkins Coie lawyer Lowell Ness. Ness has stated he’s been @a16z’s Crypto attorney from the very beginning. Lowell Ness’ 📝 includes a Safe Harbor request for one token: #ETH. This makes complete sense, however.

Lowell Ness’ firm, Perkins Coie, like Hinman’s firm, Simpson Thacher, was also a member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, a membership that promotes the EXCLUSIVE enterprise use of the Ethereum Blockchain. They took the Exclusivity commitment of the membership quite literal.

I could bring up how Lowell Ness bragged that Hinman’s speech “tracked” the @a16z 📝 memo. I guess I could bring up that Hinman is now a partner at @a16z.

(I bet you can see why so many industry players keep a distance from me 😂).

I could bring up how the ONLY SEC Commissioner to get a draft copy of the speech was Hinman’s friend Jay Clayton. Yes, that’s right, the SEC Commisoner labeled “Crypto-Mom”, @HesterPeirce never got to read the most significant speech involving Crypto before Hinman gave it.

I could bring up how Clayton took a position at One River immediately after leaving the SEC and after filing a lawsuit claiming ALL #XRP sales were sales of securities and how One River made a $1B bet on two Crypto assets. You wanna guess which two? Say it with me: #BTC & #ETH.

If I got into all the other conflicts of interests and appearances of impropriety (Clayton voting for enforcement 🆚 his law firm’s client’s biggest competitor or Marc Berger also leaving for Simpson Thacher) it might distract or take away from the clear Hinman violations.

Unfortunately, we’ve become accustomed and desensitized to the revolving🚪at the SEC. But if you believe in the SEC you should want the Hinman violations formally investigated. If you’re an #ETH holder, like me, you can’t excuse it just b/c it helped the token of your choice.

If you’re a Democrat you can’t just object and support investigations when it involves the other side. The same applies to the Republicans. The lack of managing conflicts has gotten so bad in this Country that Senators and Representatives trade with clear insider information.

Think about how bad its gotten. Not too long ago, we had a Secretary of State and her family foundation accepted monetary contributions from foreign nationals tied to foreign governments. On what 🌏 should that be accepted?

https://twitter.com/warrendavidson/status/1659578007118397442

It’s b/c each side does this shit and it has to stop. You can’t excuse it because your party is in charge. @GaryGensler has met 7-9 times with Vanguard since being Chairman of the SEC and Vanguard manages 90% of his $120M fortune and no one bats an eye at it. It’s absolutely 🤮

Why haven’t we gotten an investigation into Hinman? I’m asking leaders of the FSC, good people like @WarrenDavidson @GOPMajorityWhip @PatrickMcHenry @RepDarrenSoto @RepHuizenga and others to ask for an investigation into Hinman and support @EMPOWR_us’ fight for transparency. 👇👇

https://twitter.com/empowr_us/status/1658528534053150758

Btw, if you want actual dates and times regarding some of the Hinman contacts see below. Remember, his own SEC emails CONCLUSIVELY PROVE he met 3 times with his law partners AFTER being told if he did, it violated criminal law statutes. What more is needed for an investigation?

https://twitter.com/johnedeaton1/status/1485318870676262916