Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase, Paul Grewal, issued a statement addressing the recent complaint filed by the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. Paul Grewal clarified that the seized cryptocurrency assets are not funds appropriated by Congress and noted that there is no minimum threshold required to file such a complaint. He suggested that the complaint essentially functions as a press release under a different name.
Paul Grewal highlighted that the company collaborates closely with federal law enforcement and is committed to fulfilling the United States Marshals Service’s cryptocurrency service needs. He also noted that this initiative is funded through the sale of assets forfeited to the Department of Justice’s Assets Forfeiture Fund rather than through taxpayer dollars taken by Congress.
Additionally, the company has made equal donations to Democratic and Republican super PACs, contributing $500,000 to both House and Senate funds to both parties for this year. White and Public Citizen seem to be attempting to report a political bias, although, he notes, there is no bias. The Chief Legal Officer concluded by stating that the perspective presented by these researchers in the document does not reflect the current legal standards.
Seized crypto assets are not Congressionally appropriated funds, period. There is nothing new in the FEC complaint filed by a self-described crypto critic and Public Citizen’s research director, but it is notable that there is no minimum bar to file such a complaint, and this one…
— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) August 5, 2024
Public Citizen Files Complaint Against Coinbase With The Federal Election Commission
Last week, consumer advocacy group Public Citizen and writer Molly White filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission, alleging that Coinbase violated campaign finance laws. The complaint claims that the firm donated $25 million to the pro-cryptocurrency group Fairshake Super PAC while simultaneously negotiating government contracts with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). It suggests that these actions were in breach of campaign finance regulations. This summer, the United States Marshals Service, a division of the DOJ, announced a $32.5 million contract with Coinbase Prime for custody services.
In 2010, the United States Supreme Court decided in Citizens United versus the Federal Election Commission that corporations and other external organizations are permitted to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections.
In their complaint filed on August 1st, White and Claypool contend that Coinbase qualifies as a federal contractor due to its current contract with the United States Marshals Service (USMS), a federal agency within the DOJ. The document asserts that the Federal Election Campaign Act restricts federal contractors from contributing, either directly or indirectly, to any political committee, party, or candidate.
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