House Republicans Probe Gary Gensler’s Deleted Text Messages – Crypto News

US House Republicans have told Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins that they are investigating the loss of text messages from former SEC Chair Gary Gensler from when he led the agency.

The SEC’s Office of Inspector General’s findings in early September cast doubt on whether the Gensler-led SEC acted with transparency and integrity while serving between 2021 and 2025, House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill said in a letter to Atkins on Tuesday.

Hill said the House Financial Services Committee said “is engaging with the OIG to learn more about their report, seek clarity on outstanding questions, and discuss additional areas that require further oversight and investigation.”

Many in the crypto industry accuse Gensler of being key to a theorized Biden administration plan to pressure banks into refusing or limiting services to crypto businesses and argue his SEC stifled the industry with multiple lawsuits against crypto companies during his tenure.

Republicans accuse Gensler of double standards

The letter, also signed by House Ranking Members Ann Wagner, Dan Meuser, and Bryan Steil, said that Gensler sued several financial firms for “widespread record-keeping failures,” collecting more than $400 million worth of fines to settle charges alone in 2023.