Post by meeke on Jul 24, 2006 15:51:20 GMT -4
MR. COX we don't like HERRING, RED, BLUE, or BLACK. Keep your "FISH" and just do "YOUR JOB."
JIM
By Siobhan Hughes
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox should be forced to answer "tough questions" when he testifies on Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee, a former SEC enforcement attorney said.
"This oversight responsibility calls upon your committee to put the tough questions to Chairman Cox," wrote Gary Aguirre, who says he was fired in September 2005 after pursuing an insider-trading probe of hedge fund Pequot Capital Management.
Cox, who assumed the chairmanship of the SEC in August, has been in the spotlight over the agency's handling of the investigation. In June, Aguirre went public with claims that he was fired after his supervisors blocked him from seeking testimony from Morgan Stanley (MS) Chief Executive John Mack, who is a longtime friend of Pequot head Arthur Samberg.
Last week, days before the Senate hearing, the SEC reversed course and asked for testimony from Mack. The SEC's inspector general also reopened in investigation into Aguirre's claims. The inspector general had earlier concluded there was no evidence to show that SEC officials had granted Mack favorable treatment because of his power and influence. Aguirre has said he was never interviewed for the Inspector General's initial investigation.
"There is little reason to believe that the SEC's Inspector General - which has already issued one whitewash - will do better the second time around," Aguirre wrote in a letter to the Senate Banking Committee. "I submit this 'investigation' has a different purpose. It is a red herring tossed out by the SEC to draw your committee away from exercising its duty to the public."
An SEC spokesman couldn't immediately be reached for comment. SEC officials have said before that no one at the agency has tried to exert improper influence in enforcement investigations. Morgan Stanley has said that Mack "is happy to meet with the commission staff" "to put to rest any issues surrounding this matter."
-By Siobhan Hughes, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6654; Siobhan.Hughes@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 24, 2006 15:32 ET (19:32 GMT)
JIM
By Siobhan Hughes
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox should be forced to answer "tough questions" when he testifies on Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee, a former SEC enforcement attorney said.
"This oversight responsibility calls upon your committee to put the tough questions to Chairman Cox," wrote Gary Aguirre, who says he was fired in September 2005 after pursuing an insider-trading probe of hedge fund Pequot Capital Management.
Cox, who assumed the chairmanship of the SEC in August, has been in the spotlight over the agency's handling of the investigation. In June, Aguirre went public with claims that he was fired after his supervisors blocked him from seeking testimony from Morgan Stanley (MS) Chief Executive John Mack, who is a longtime friend of Pequot head Arthur Samberg.
Last week, days before the Senate hearing, the SEC reversed course and asked for testimony from Mack. The SEC's inspector general also reopened in investigation into Aguirre's claims. The inspector general had earlier concluded there was no evidence to show that SEC officials had granted Mack favorable treatment because of his power and influence. Aguirre has said he was never interviewed for the Inspector General's initial investigation.
"There is little reason to believe that the SEC's Inspector General - which has already issued one whitewash - will do better the second time around," Aguirre wrote in a letter to the Senate Banking Committee. "I submit this 'investigation' has a different purpose. It is a red herring tossed out by the SEC to draw your committee away from exercising its duty to the public."
An SEC spokesman couldn't immediately be reached for comment. SEC officials have said before that no one at the agency has tried to exert improper influence in enforcement investigations. Morgan Stanley has said that Mack "is happy to meet with the commission staff" "to put to rest any issues surrounding this matter."
-By Siobhan Hughes, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6654; Siobhan.Hughes@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 24, 2006 15:32 ET (19:32 GMT)