WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Securities and Exchange Commission mishandled an investigation of suspicious hedge fund trading that led to the 2005 firing of an SEC attorney, a U.S. Senate report says.
The report from the Senate Finance and Senate Judiciary committees, released late on Friday, ends a year-long inquiry into the dismissal of former SEC staffer Gary Aguirre.
Aguirre says he was forced out of the agency after a probe he was leading got too close to prominent Wall Street banker John Mack. His claims prompted three Senate hearings and drew heavy press coverage.
The final Senate report criticized SEC management of the investigation and expressed concerns about whether allegations of improper political influence had damaged the agency.
