House Democrats, during a press briefing, accused the SEC of failing to answer basic questions during a May 29, 2025 call regarding the CLARITY Act, stating that the Commission had not reviewed submitted queries in advance and had alluded that some information was privileged

Event date

June 3, 2025

Quotes that support claims

When asked by a reporter whether the SEC had been deliberately obstructing the staffers or merely incompetent, one staffer said it was hard to know. "Some of it did feel like they just didn't understand some of the basic questions," they said. Further, the Democratic aide claimed the SEC shared supposedly "privileged" information with Republicans. "That made it feel like they were trying to hide the ball."

Democratic staffers further claim that on a call Thursday with SEC staff, their questions about knock-on effects the bill could have beyond crypto, on traditional securities markets, went either unanswered or not fully addressed—in a manner one staffer said “made it feel like they were trying to hide the ball.”

Staffers said people on the call representing the SEC were unable to answer simple questions and alluded to some information being privileged.

Democratic staff on the House Financial Services Committee submitted questions to the SEC about the bill and in a briefing were denied basic answers that were previously given to Republicans, according to the Democratic aides who asked not to be named.

The staffer also said that people representing the SEC on the call did not read questions sent ahead of time, calling it "truly infuriating."

Tags

Week 23 of 2025