Coinbase is asking a New York court to order the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to hand over documents involving internal discussions made by Chair Gary Gensler. 

The crypto exchange filed a motion to compel Gensler and the SEC to provide documents that Coinbase says are at the heart of its litigation with the agency, in a court document filed on Tuesday.  

Years before the SEC sued Coinbase, the agency's commissioners and staff met with crypto market stakeholders, including Coinbase, and posted public statements and guidance about crypto regulation, Coinbase said in its motion on Wednesday.

"Documents related to these communications bear directly on the SEC’s claims and on Coinbase’s fair notice defense," Coinbase said. "The SEC will not search for these …