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Julia Smith
Author
Julia Smith
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Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is slamming newly confirmed United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins for allegedly participating in “open corruption” under U.S. President Donald Trump, a September 25 social media post shows.
Senator Elizabeth Warren Lambasts SEC Chair Paul Atkins
In response to a September 24 X post by The New York Times journalist Kenneth P. Vogel alleging that the SEC dropped a complaint against its chairman’s former client, Warren aired her grievances over Atkins and the Trump administration at large.
“Trump’s SEC Chair spent his career advising big banks and giant corporations,” Warren said. “It’s no surprise the SEC is now dropping cases against his Wall Street friends.”
“Just the latest example of how Trump and his Administration are engaging in open corruption on an unprecedented scale,” she added.
According to Vogel’s Wednesday report, Atkins was paid $1,450 an hour by Devon Archer’s lawyers to serve as an expert witness as the businessman faced claims he defrauded a Native American entity in 2018.
A spokesperson for Atkins told the award-winning media outlet that the former SEC commissioner recused himself from the agency’s decision to drop the case.
Archer was convicted of securities fraud in 2018 and was pardoned by Trump earlier this year.
The SEC Shifts Its Stance
The SEC has dropped several legal cases against key players in the blockchain sector this year alone, including OpenSea, Ripple, and Coinbase.
The decision to rescind litigation against actors in the crypto space comes as the SEC moves away from its prior regulation-by-enforcement approach to digital assets under former chairman Gary Gensler.
In January, the federal regulator established a Crypto Task Force to lead the SEC on a “sensible regulatory path that respects the bounds of the law,” according to a 2025 press release from the agency.
However, with key U.S. lawmakers like Warren eyeing issues of “open corruption” at the SEC, the political battle over the regulator’s latest policy stance is only just heating up.
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