Gary Gensler was dismissed as the most “historically destructive and lawless” SEC chairman.

On September 24, Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer took aim at Gary Gensler for his “disastrous record” as SEC chairman. The grilling occurred during a congressional hearing of the House Financial Services Committee.

Emmer accused Gensler of expecting political loyalty from SEC staff, including officials; however, the SEC chairman denied this claim despite email evidence to the contrary.

“The way you hire and the culture you need encourages your staff to be loyal to you, above the law, and above the mission of the SEC.”

Gary Gensler under fire

The attack continued with Tom Emmer accusing Gensler of abusing the agency’s enforcement tools.

“You’ve even roped in companies eager to comply only to hit them with enforcement actions.”

In recent years, the SEC has filed legal actions against several high-profile crypto and fintech companies, including Ripple, Coinbase, Kraken, BlockFi, Telegram, Celsius, Binance and others, in its ongoing war against the industry.

“You retaliated against companies and people who have come before this committee to talk about the next generation of American finance,” Emmer continued.

.@GaryGensler he has been the most destructive and lawless SEC chairman in history. pic.twitter.com/HUV3HVI1FL

— Tom Emmer (@GOPMajorityWhip) September 24, 2024

He cited the Debt Box case where the SEC was penalized for material misrepresentation in court, noting that it resulted in the agency paying nearly $2 million in taxpayer-funded legal fees.

Emmer cited Vice President Harris’ reported plans to create clear rules for digital assets, criticizing Gensler’s approach to regulating the industry, citing market confusion and numerous court cases.

“Do you think he’s reprimanding you because he doesn’t think you’ve done a good enough job setting these clear rules over the last three years of his administration?” he asked

Gensler responded with the same answer: The laws are already there, and it’s his job to enforce them.

Manufactured terminology

Eventually, the Republican congressman took umbrage with Gensler, inventing terms to suit the agency and its hard-line approach to the crypto industry.

“And perhaps worst of all in some ways you invented the term ‘crypto asset security’. That term is nowhere to be found in the bylaws. You made it up.”

“You made the broad proclamation that you believe most tokens are ‘crypto-asset securities,'” he said before concluding that this was a deliberate effort as part of the SEC’s war on crypto and the “application crusade” over the past three years.

Tom Emmer, who called for clarity on crypto airdrops earlier this month, ended with this final conclusion:

“Your inconsistencies on this issue, sir, have set this country back. We could not have had a more historically destructive or lawless SEC chairman.”

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