WASHINGTON, D.C. – Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Caroline D. Pham today released the following statement on the CFTC’s filing of four administrative complaints for enforcement actions before a CFTC temporary hearing officer:

“It is unbelievable that in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Jarkesy opinion and the heightened scrutiny of agency administrative proceedings, the Commission is doubling down on bringing enforcement actions before a hearing officer—not even an Administrative Law Judge. Last year, when the Commission pulled this maneuver at the last minute, I stated that this shotgun approach 'flies in the face of decades of Commission standard practice and rules, bypasses federal Article III courts, and is a misuse of the CFTC’s adjudication authority.'[1] Worse, the Commission is using these administrative proceedings to advance novel interpretations of the definition of a futures commission merchant (FCM) and the CFTC’s registration requirement, all while evading public scrutiny or oversight by the courts. It could not be more clear that the CFTC believes there is no higher authority in the Nation: the CFTC is above the law.”

[1] “Shotgun Hearings and Quickie Defaults,” Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Caroline D. Pham Regarding the Filing of Administrative Complaints for Enforcement Actions (Sept. 29, 2023), https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/phamstatement092923. See Statement of Commissioner Caroline D. Pham on SEC v. Jarkesy (June 28, 2024), https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/phamstatement062824; Statement of Commissioner Caroline D. Pham on Administrative Proceedings (Mar. 15, 2024), https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/phamstatement031524.