SEC inspector general issues Hinman report on potential conflicts

Center Square ^ | 12/17/24 | Bret Rowland

[CFW]

(The Center Square) – Years after a watchdog group raised ethics questions about a former top Securities and Exchange Commission director, the agency's inspector general issued a report on the matter, but has yet to release it publicly.

Empower Oversight, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving independent government oversight, raised questions about William Hinman, who served as director of the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance from May 2017 to December 2020.

Empower Oversight obtained documents that it said showed Hinman may have violated federal ethics rules regarding conflicts of interest. The group's investigation resulted in a referral of evidence to the SEC OIG in May 2022. In February 2024, the SEC's Office of Inspector General said it was in the "final stages" of an investigation, according to correspondence the group posted.

Outside groups have kept pressure on the SEC to release the Hinman report. Earlier this month, Consumer Action for a Strong Economy (CASE) called on outgoing SEC Chairman Gary Gensler to release the SEC's Office of the Inspector General's report on potential conflicts of interest by Hinman.

A spokesperson for the SEC's OIG told The Center Square the Hinman report "has been issued to SEC management."

[CFW]

I notice that these IG reports are only now coming out--30 days before the end of Biden's 4 years of disaster. Am I cynical to ask why they have waited until now to finalize these reports?

Also, these reports need to be made publicly available with few, if any, redactions.

Now, there will be calls by the left, the media, and the never-Trumper GOP to just "move on". No repercussions and they can just begin on planning the same type of actions once they return to office by hook, crook, and fraud.