Overview

• The Sept. 11 motion asks for expedited discovery and immediate production of communications tied to crypto policy decisions.
• The erased messages span Oct. 18, 2022 to Sept. 6, 2023, a period covering the FTX collapse and major enforcement actions.
• Coinbase says the SEC defied court orders by delaying and narrowing searches, with no texts produced on Ethereum’s regulatory status.
• The SEC conducted belated searches in April and June 2025 that reported no responsive texts, while the OIG found 38% of reconstructed messages were mission-related, including May 2023 timing discussions.
• The watchdog also flagged broader risk with texts from more than 20 senior officials potentially missing and nearly 40 devices lacking backups, prompting the SEC to restrict texting and notify NARA.