Scandali finanziari e libertà di stampa - scontro alla SEC

[FaGal]

Scandali finanziari e libertà di stampa
Lo scontro alla Sec
L a storia comincia con due giornalisti di Dow Jones che tengono contatti con due società finanziarie sotto inchiesta da parte della Sec, la Consob Usa. E prosegue con la Sec che avvia una causa legale contro i due professionisti. Ma l’epilogo non è scontato. Il presidente della Sec, Chris Cox, ha infatti rimproverato apertamente il suo staff per non averlo informato di quanto accadeva. Per Cox, accusare due giornalisti che stanno facendo il loro lavoro d’informazione, è un fatto «straordinario» e «inusuale» che va ben meditato.





SEC Took Rare Step to Subpoena Journalists
www.durantdemocrat.com - By MARCY GORDON - February 26, 2006


WASHINGTON - The Securities and Exchange Commission routinely subpoenas companies and financial market figures. Rarely does it go after journalists' records, yet it sought recently to compel two reporters to turn over material.

The legal move comes at a time of heightened sensitivity over press freedom and government action against journalists.

After issuing a subpoena on Feb. 7 to two financial journalists, the SEC decided last week against compelling them, at least for now, to surrender records as part of an investigation into allegations of stock manipulation.

The subpoena went to columnists for two Dow Jones & Co. publications, Herb Greenberg of MarketWatch and Carol Remond of Dow Jones Newswires. The subpoena sought telephone records, e-mails and other documents related to the online retailer Overstock.com. Greenberg and Remond have written columns about Overstock.

The independent market watchdog agency, which only has civil powers, rarely subpoenas journalists or news organizations. Its move comes during a period in which - most notably in high-profile criminal cases - authorities increasingly are compelling journalists to produce information and disclose their sources.

"It's an epidemic," Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said Saturday. "I think we may see more and more agencies" moving to subpoena journalists.

SEC spokesman John Nester said that under long-standing practice, the agency "generally subpoenas journalists only when absolutely necessary and after careful thought and consideration." He declined further comment.

The SEC is investigating allegations by Overstock that a research firm, Gradient Analytics, issued negative reports on the retailer in exchange for payments from a hedge fund seeking to profit from a drop in its stock price. Overstock has sued Gradient and the hedge fund in question, Rocker Partners; they deny any wrongdoing.

The SEC move prompted Greenberg to disclose and sharply criticize the subpoena in a column published Friday.

Greenberg, who has written columns critical of Overstock and its chief executive, Patrick Byrne, wrote that "if my unpublished communications aren't safe from government eyes, then the tools of every business reporter in this country become fair game for any company that doesn't like scrutiny and chooses to play the 'conspiracy' card."

Greenberg said that he and Dow Jones - which also publishes The Wall Street Journal - had objected to the subpoena.

SEC lawyers in the agency's San Francisco office are conducting the Overstock investigation. They told Dow Jones on Friday that although the company had not complied with the subpoena by that day's deadline, they were not going to court to seek to enforce it _ at least for now.

The agency often tries to negotiate with companies or individuals under subpoena before resorting to court action because sensitive material related to the investigation may have to be introduced to make their case. Sometimes agency investigators are able to obtain the information they seek from other sources.

Dow Jones spokeswoman Amy Wolfcale said in a statement that the SEC had not taken the subpoena off the table and "may come back in the future."

In other legal cases involving reporters:

* A special prosecutor is probing the leak to reporters of a CIA operative's identity.

* The Justice Department has opened an investigation to determine who divulged the existence of President Bush's secret domestic spying program. The monitoring program was disclosed by The New York Times in December.

* The department is examining whether classified information was illegally disclosed to The Washington Post about a network of secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe and elsewhere.

* A federal appeals court in New York said this month it would review a lower-court decision that the government was not entitled to see telephone records of two New York Times reporters who talked with confidential sources after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

* Journalists from The Associated Press, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times asked the Supreme Court last month to block an order requiring them to reveal confidential sources in their reporting on a criminal probe of a nuclear scientist.







SEC puts journalist subpoenas on ice
www.usatoday.com - February 27, 2006


WASHINGTON - The Securities and Exchange Commission is taking the unusual step of halting pursuit of a subpoena for records from two journalists until the agency considers the matter, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said Monday.

Underscoring the sensitivity of the issue, Cox said in a statement that neither he nor the SEC's general counsel nor any of the other four SEC commissioners had been informed or consulted regarding "such an extraordinary step" before news reports appeared on it over the weekend.

Normally, SEC enforcement attorneys issue subpoenas in an investigation without specific approval by the commissioners, who approve only the overall investigations.

The issue of subpoenaing journalists will be considered by the five SEC commissioners "before this matter proceeds further," Cox said.

After issuing a subpoena on Feb. 7 to two financial journalists, the SEC decided last week against compelling them, at least for now, to surrender records as part of an investigation into allegations of stock manipulation.

The subpoena went to columnists Herb Greenberg of MarketWatch and Carol Remond of Dow Jones Newswires, both Dow Jones online publications. The subpoena sought telephone records, e-mails and other documents related to the online retailer Overstock.com. Greenberg and Remond have written columns about Overstock.

The SEC, an independent regulatory agency with only civil powers, rarely subpoenas journalists or news organizations. Its move comes during at a time of heightened concern over press freedom and government action against journalists.

Former SEC officials said Cox's statement is a rare public scolding to staff for not following general agency practices of avoiding press subpoenas because of the negative attention they draw and for not checking with superiors on sensitive press matters.

"The issuance of a subpoena to a journalist which seeks to compel production of his or her notes and records of conversations with sources is highly unusual," Cox noted in the statement. "The sensitive issues that such a subpoena raises are of sufficient importance that they should, and will be, considered and decided by the commission before this matter proceeds further," he said.

The SEC is investigating allegations by Overstock that a research firm, Gradient Analytics, issued negative reports on the retailer in exchange for payments from a hedge fund seeking to profit from a drop in its stock price. Overstock has sued Gradient and the hedge fund in question, Rocker Partners; they deny any wrongdoing.

Dow Jones spokeswoman Amy Wolfcale didn't immediately return a telephone call seeking comment Monday. She said in a statement Friday that the company had been told "that the SEC has decided not to seek production of any documents from Dow Jones at this time," but added, "The SEC may come back in the future."

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TheStreet.com is second financial news organization subpoenaed in SEC inquiry
www.macon.com - February 28, 2006


WASHINGTON (AP) - A second financial news organization was subpoenaed for records in an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, whose chairman has now put the subpoenas on hold amid controversy.

Financial news Web site TheStreet.com and its co-founder and major shareholder, James Cramer, were served subpoenas by the SEC about two weeks ago in connection with an inquiry into allegations of stock manipulation. Two columnists for Dow Jones online publications, Herb Greenberg of MarketWatch and Carol Remond of Dow Jones Newswires, also received subpoenas in the SEC investigation related to online retailer Overstock.com.

Jordan Goldstein, general counsel of New York-based TheStreet.com, said Tuesday in a telephone interview that the company had objected to the subpoenas dated Feb. 6 demanding records of communications. He declined further comment.

SEC spokesman John Nester declined comment.
Dow Jones & Co., which also publishes The Wall Street Journal, also had objected to the SEC subpoenas.

SEC Chairman Christopher Cox took the unusual step Monday of halting the agency's pursuit of the subpoenas until its five commissioners consider the matter, possibly on Thursday.

Cox suggested that SEC enforcement attorneys should have consulted him before issuing the subpoenas because of the sensitivity of ordering journalists to hand over records.

The SEC, an independent regulatory agency with only civil powers, rarely subpoenas journalists or news organizations.

``This is unusual. I don't think I've ever seen a subpoena pulled back before'' by the SEC, said James Cox, a professor at Duke University who specializes in securities law. The move ``creates some level of tension'' between the agency's enforcement attorneys and Cox's office, he said.

Cramer, who writes a column for TheStreet.com and is the colorful and hyperactive host of the ``Mad Money'' show on the CNBC television network, disclosed on the program Monday night that he had been subpoenaed.

The SEC took the action because, ``I said the stock was going lower,'' Cramer said, referring to shares of Overstock.com.

``I didn't get the subpoena because I'm corrupt,'' he said. ``I got it because I tried to get people out of a stock that we said was going lower, and went lower.''

Similarly, Greenberg and Remond have written columns that were critical of Overstock.com and its chief executive, Patrick Byrne.

The retailer has accused the research firm Gradient Analytics of issuing negative reports on the retailer in exchange for payments from a hedge fund seeking to profit from a drop in its stock price. Overstock has sued Gradient and the hedge fund in question, Rocker Partners; they deny any wrongdoing.

After issuing the subpoenas early this month, the SEC decided last week against compelling the journalists, at least for now, to surrender telephone records, e-mails and other documents the agency was seeking in its investigation.

Cox and the other four commissioners are expected to consider the issue at a closed-door meeting, possibly on Thursday. No action on the subpoenas will be taken before their deliberations, he said Monday.

In an additional twist, Rocker Partners is a minority owner of TheStreet.com, whose shares are traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market.