The leadership of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee was not satisfied with the response of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler to their request for documents. They contacted the SEC chairman again in a sharply worded letter.
Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry and Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, wrote to Gensler on February 10, “requesting records and communications between the SEC Enforcement Division, the Office of the Chairman, and the Department of Justice (DOJ)” regarding Timing of charges and arrest of former FTX CEO Sam Bankmanfried. Bankman-Fried was scheduled to appear before the Financial Services Commission on Dec. 13 but was unable to testify due to his arrest.
The SEC missed the deadline to file the required documents, thus blocking the Commission's work. Additionally, SEC staff provided 232 pages of documents that were "publicly available but did not respond to requests." Lawmakers set a new deadline of April 17 for some documents at the end of the working day. They warn:
"Failure to provide the requested information may lead the Commission to consider using compulsory procedures to obtain the requested information, if necessary."
The letter was accompanied by 14-page instructions, "for the purposes of this request," to produce the materials requested by the congressman. McHenry previously announced that Gensler would appear before the committee in person on April 18.
