House Democrats have accused the Securities and Exchange Commission of abandoning enforcement actions against major crypto firms—including Ripple, Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken—while raising questions about whether political donations influenced those decisions, though one crypto attorney argues the legal doctrine of res judicata makes revisiting closed cases impossible.
What Happened: SEC Enforcement Rollback
In a Jan. 15, 2026 letter to SEC Chair Paul Atkins, lawmakers claimed the agency has dismissed or closed more than a dozen major crypto-related cases since early 2025 despite favorable court rulings in some matters.
The letter alleged companies whose cases were dropped donated at least $1 million each to Donald Trump's inauguration. Senators imply that based on Politico article from Jan 17, 2025.
Democrats pointed to what they called an "unmistakable inference of a pay-to-play scheme."
Much of the criticism focused on the SEC's decision to seek and maintain an 11-month stay in its case against Justin Sun, the only action among those cited that has not been formally dismissed. The letter referenced Sun's September 2025 announcement that he was purchasing an additional $10 million worth of WLFI tokens from World Liberty Financial, a Trump family business.
Lawmakers also sought information regarding the SEC's knowledge of Sun's ties to the People's Republic of China and any CCP-affiliated persons or entities.
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Why It Matters: Legal Barriers
The House Democrats' letter highlights the possibility that political pressure could result in fresh legal action against Ripple and other companies. The resurgence of even a small number of those cases has the potential to significantly impact the cryptocurrency market once more.
But there are lawyers who think it's highly unlikely.
For instance, crypto attorney Bill Morgan pushed back on suggestions that political pressure could prompt new enforcement actions against Ripple or other firms whose cases have concluded.
Morgan cited res judicata, the legal doctrine preventing retrial of matters conclusively decided between the same parties on identical issues. "Too bad the SEC can't go against those companies again on the same matters. Res Judicata baby. Live with it fools," he said.
The Sun case remains an outlier. Unlike the other matters cited in the letter, it can be revisited at any time.
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