Law enforcement duo endorses CLARITY Act — with homework attached 📋

The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) has become the second major US law enforcement organization to publicly endorse the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, announcing its support in a July 10 statement to the Senate Banking Committee less than four weeks before the chamber's Aug. 8 recess. In the same letter, FLEOA laid out four specific demands aimed at tightening the bill's treatment of decentralized finance. "[FLEOA is] expressing support for CLARITY and confirming what many of us know — this bill is strong on consumer protection and law enforcement," said Ji Kim, CEO of the Crypto Council, in a Monday statement.

FLEOA described the current text as "meaningful progress toward balancing technological innovation with public safety" and commended the committee for efforts to "establish a clear regulatory framework for digital assets that promotes responsible innovation while preserving critical criminal, anti-money laundering, counterterrorism financing, sanctions enforcement, and investigative authorities." The group nevertheless urged lawmakers to narrow the bill's DeFi protections, clarify who is accountable within decentralized finance systems, prevent firms from dodging regulation by claiming to be decentralized, revise "specific intent" language to ease the path to establishing liability, and explicitly affirm that the legislation does not curtail existing federal investigative authority.

The endorsement came nine days after the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) backed the bill, with both letters pushing back against arguments that the legislation would weaken the government's ability to police crypto crime. In June, four organizations — the National District Attorneys Association, the National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the National Sheriffs' Association — had raised concerns to the White House focused on Section 604, which protects developers from liability for illicit activity carried out by users on decentralized platforms, arguing the provision could create broad exemptions for crypto-related investigations. The opposition led the White House to convene a meeting with objecting law enforcement groups in late June, and in July the Major County Sheriffs of America shifted from opposing the bill to a neutral stance.

With the Aug. 8 recess approaching, the conditional endorsements are now part of the legislative arithmetic the Senate Banking Committee must weigh as it moves toward any vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act.