“The Gensler SEC destroyed documents they were required to preserve and produce. We now have proof from the SEC’s own Inspector General.”
Despite court directives encompassing “all documents and communications,” the agency’s productions included no text messages and did not indicate that texts were searched.
The SEC conducted belated text message searches only in April and June 2025, months after claiming compliance with court orders.
Additionally, the filing argued that the agency reported no responsive texts were found. However, it acknowledged that searches were incomplete due to technical limitations affecting dozens of senior officials’ devices.
The Inspector General found that 38% of recovered Gensler texts involved “mission-related communications,” including discussions related to crypto enforcement, contradicting claims that he used texts only for administrative purposes.
One May 2023 conversation involved Gensler, his staff, and the Enforcement Division Director discussing the timing of actions against crypto trading platforms.
Grewal said the information creates a double standard problem for the SEC, which imposed over $1 billion in fines on financial firms for recordkeeping violations during Gensler’s tenure.
He added that the agency emphasized that “everybody should play by the same rules,” while pursuing enforcement actions for identical text message preservation failures.
History Associates, representing Coinbase, argues that 40 additional senior SEC officials face an ongoing risk of losing text messages due to backup system failures. The filing requests emergency intervention to prevent further destruction of documents.
