Reporting by Cointelegraph and COINOTAG notes that Republican members of the U.S. House requested an inquiry to SEC Chair Paul Atkins regarding former Chair Gary Gensler and the alleged SEC text message deletion. An Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report identified an erroneous automated IT policy that purportedly wiped a government-issued mobile device, removing texts dated October 2022 through September 2023, prompting legislative scrutiny of internal record-retention controls.
Lawmakers characterized the episode as indicative of a potential double standard, citing Gensler’s 2023 enforcement drive that produced civil actions and more than $400 million in penalties against firms for record-keeping failures. Republicans have urged a targeted review of the SEC’s compliance frameworks and documentation practices to restore regulatory credibility.