According to Cointelegraph, Eric Council Jr., who was suspected of hacking the X account of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January, was allowed to travel on vacation. On December 13, Amy Berman Jackson, a judge of the District Court of the District of Columbia, approved Council to travel to North Carolina with a third-party guardian from December 23 to 29. Council needs to provide a detailed itinerary to the pre-trial service two days in advance.
Council was accused of hacking into the SEC account on January 9 and publishing a false message that the SEC had approved a spot Bitcoin ETF, causing market volatility. The FBI arrested Council in Alabama on October 17, and he pleaded not guilty to charges of identity theft and access device fraud.
No trial date has been scheduled yet, but the judge suggested that both parties could submit plea agreements by January 17. When the SEC account was hacked, many people expected the SEC to announce whether it would allow U.S. exchanges to list spot ETFs tied to Bitcoin.
