In late February, Christopher Cox, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, was jolted to learn from news stories that his agency had subpoenaed two financial journalists as part of an investigation.
Coming at a time of acute sensitivity over press freedom and government action against journalists, the subpoenas came from an agency that rarely goes after reporters' records. Moreover, neither Cox nor the SEC's general counsel nor its public affairs office had been told about the subpoenas issued by enforcement attorneys in the commission's San Francisco regional office.
Cox issued a statement Feb. 27, saying he was halting pursuit of the journalists — a move some observers saw as a rebuke of his enforcement director, Linda Thomsen. Three days later, he brought reporters into his 10th-floor conference room and discussed new guidelines the SEC would adopt for subpoenas of the news media.
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