The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s former top enforcement official reportedly clashed with the regulator’s leadership before resigning last week, in part over how the agency handled cases involving allies of President Donald Trump.
Margaret Ryan, who served as director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement for just over six months, pushed to pursue fraud and other charges in matters tied to Trump’s circle but faced resistance from SEC Chair Paul Atkins and other Republican appointees, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Two high-profile matters that created tension involved crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, both of whom have connections to Trump—Musk as a special White House adviser.
Ryan resigned from the SEC on March 16. The SEC’s announcement that day did not specify why she left. The move comes amid increased Democratic scrutiny of the SEC over what critics call a U-turn on crypto enforcement after the agency, under the Trump administration, dropped or settled several cases brought during former chair Gary Gensler’s tenure.
Sun and Musk cases were major points of contention
One source of friction was the SEC’s lawsuit against Justin Sun and three of his companies, which the agency resolved earlier this month with a $10 million settlement. The SEC originally sued Sun in March 2023, alleging the sale of unregistered securities and manipulative wash trading; the settlement allowed Sun and his companies to neither admit nor deny the allegations.
Sun became the largest investor in the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial crypto project in November 2024 after buying $30 million in tokens, increasing his stake to $75 million by January 2025.
An SEC enforcement official told Reuters the Sun case was complicated by shifting crypto guidance and pending legislation. The official said their understanding was that Ryan supported the settlement, but her signature did not appear on the court documents. Tron, a company named in the SEC suit, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The SEC’s lawsuit against Musk, filed in the final week of Gensler’s term, also caused friction. In January 2025 the agency accused Musk of failing to disclose that he had “acquired beneficial ownership” of Twitter (now X) in early 2022, enabling purchases at lower prices. On March 17 the SEC and Musk said in a joint court filing they were negotiating a settlement. Lawyers following the matters told Reuters both the Sun and Musk cases were legally strong and had a good chance of prevailing in court.
The SEC did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and Ryan could not be reached for comment.
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