On September 24, The New Republic writer Jacob Silverman tweeted about a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that was eventually denied. On the social media platform, Silverman wrote that he had received responses from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to his requests under the Freedom of Information Act and said the responses were “withheld due to a potential law enforcement investigation.”
Jacob Silverman sought “access to all documents, emails, memos, and reports relating to Tether”
There are a lot of stablecoins these days and today, all the stablecoins in existence are valued at $129.7 billion. The oldest and largest stablecoin, in terms of market valuation, Tether (USDT) accounts for $69.7 billion in the combined total of all stablecoins. This Friday, a staff writer for the Bulletin of the New Republic, Jacob Silverman, tweeted that he had filed a Freedom of Information Act request for “Tether” and “Tether Operations Limited.”
Essentially, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request allows Americans to access all of the federal agency’s records. However, records (or parts of records) cannot be accessed by the public if there is a law enforcement investigation or the records are protected through disclosure.
Today, there are approximately three types of exceptions and nine exceptions that the federal agency can use if a records inquiry is made. In the request, the queryer can specify the format and type of records.
Silverman was “seeking access to all documents, emails, memos and reports relating to Tether Operations Limited.” A Freedom of Information Act request can be found here and Silverman’s tweet about responses from the government agency.
Obtained SEC responses to FOIA requests I made for information on ‘Tether’ and ‘Tether Operations Limited’, Silverman She said. “The blocking has been made due to a possible law enforcement investigation,” he added. The SEC’s response indicates that the agency benefits from the exemption.
“We are withholding records that may respond to your request under 5 USC § 552(b)(7) (A),” the SEC replied in detail. “This exemption protects the disclosure of records of records collected for law enforcement purposes, the release of which would reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement activities. Because Exemption 7(a) protects records from disclosure, we have not determined whether other exceptions apply. Therefore, we reserve the right to assert other exceptions when Exemption 7(a) is no longer in effect.” The SEC’s response adds:
It is the Commission’s general policy to conduct its investigations on a non-public basis. Thus, in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the commission does not disclose the presence or absence of an investigation or information collected unless an order is issued from the public record in proceedings before the commission or in the courts.
The response differs from the response Bennett Tomlin received regarding Tether in February
Silverman’s response does not mean that law enforcement or the federal agency itself plans to claim the company for any illegal activity. Last February, the analyst Bennett Tomlin He also filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding Tether documents, and after thoroughly researching all of the SEC’s systems, the letter said, “the regulator has not identified or identified any information that would respond to your request.”
In response to Silverman’s last request and answer, Tomlin chirp About the Freedom of Information Act request and said: Hello [Jacob Silverman] I received a different response than mine [of] months ago.”
“Which tells us the Securities and Exchange Commission started this sometime between February and now,” Tomlin said. “I don “t think so [Jay] Clayton thought it was securities but apparently [Gary] Gensler does so, “Analyst is over.
What do you think of the US regulator’s response to Jacob Silverman about Tether? Tell us what you think about it in the comments section below.
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