House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer has threatened to subpoena Gary Gensler, chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), if Gensler does not provide documents that Comer requested in June. Comer and Senator Tim Scott, ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, sent a letter to Gensler on June 5 requesting documents related to the SEC's involvement in the development of social engineering initiatives in the European Union (EU).
In the letter, Comer accused Gensler of obstructing congressional oversight and attempting to circumvent Congress in pursuit of an agenda that could harm American taxpayers. Comer stated that the documents provided by the SEC so far have either been already publicly available or acquired through the Freedom of Information Act, which did not fulfill the committee's request.
Comer pointed out that the SEC has been less than transparent, while the agency's "entire regulatory regime" is based on transparency and disclosure. He said that the SEC demands "transparency and cooperation" from registrants while at the same time "delaying" and "misleading" the committee's efforts. He pointed out that the SEC would likely not tolerate that behavior from its registrants, noting that earlier this month, the SEC fined Goldman Sachs $6 million for withholding information.
This is not the first time Comer and other lawmakers have criticized Gensler's lack of transparency and inadequate record-keeping. In June, Comer and two other committee chairmen sent a letter to Gensler, expressing concerns about his failure to comply with federal record-keeping laws. They raised issues regarding Gensler's response to their previous request for information about how the SEC complies with record-keeping requirements.
Gensler faced scrutiny earlier this year for a virtual meeting he held with Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of crypto exchange FTX, who is currently on trial for fraud. Gensler reportedly did not obtain the necessary permission to hold the meeting, and experts believe he likely would not have received permission if he had asked for it. Despite claims from an SEC spokesperson that Gensler obtained permission for the meeting, no documentation has been provided to support this claim.
Comer's threat to subpoena Gensler demonstrates his frustration with the lack of transparency and cooperation from the SEC. If Gensler fails to provide the requested documents, Comer is prepared to take further action to ensure congressional oversight.
