A judge has ruled that the US Securities and Exchange Commission cannot seal certain documents related to a 2018 speech by former agency director Bill Hinman in its case against Ripple. The SEC had wanted to seal the "Hinman Speech documents" which contain "nonpublic deliberations" among SEC officials in connection with the speech. The SEC argued that the documents should be sealed due to their lack of relevance to the summary judgment motions and because their disclosure "would be highly prejudicial to the SEC". However, the judge disagreed and stated that the documents are judicial documents subject to a strong presumption of public access. Some of Ripple's documents, including audited financial statements and forecasts, will remain sealed.