After the petition reached the Supreme Court, letters started arriving. From people who lived through the same enforcement process. From a former attorney who surrendered his law license. From a founder whose reputation a single SEC press release destroyed forever. The Gag Rule silenced them. They are not silent anymore.
Each letter below is published with the writer's permission. Names and identifying details have been redacted at the writer's request.
I appreciate you taking a stand on an issue that has clearly affected many people for years.
A reader who reached out after seeing the case, asking for background materials and looking for ways affected individuals can stay informed and support the effort.
If I wanted to be bullied by corrupt officials, I could have stayed in Russia.
A founder who was granted asylum in the United States for fighting corruption — and who publicly refused to engage in settlement talks with the SEC.
$250,000 in the hole on legal fees and unable to contest certain facts that would have exonerated me, I just threw my hands in the air and surrendered my law license.
A licensed attorney who settled with the SEC over a shell-custodianship matter — and was then forced to surrender his law license after the agency cited the Gag Rule to prevent him from contesting facts in a subsequent state bar proceeding.
Any person who searches my name — a potential client, my children, anyone who knows me or meets me — will see that first. I will never recover from that.
A fund manager whose clients were victims of a massive fraud — and who, after years of investigation, settled with the SEC to end the financial and emotional toll. The settlement press release remains the first result when his name is searched online. He has spent close to $100,000 trying to bury it.
If you or someone you know has been silenced by the SEC's Gag Rule, we'd like to hear from you. Letters may be shared on this page — with permission and with names redacted — to strengthen the public record.
Write to ThomasAll correspondence is treated in confidence.