SEC Chairman Christopher Cox isn’t about to take John McCain’s criticism of him laying down. In a fairly unique email to employees on Thursday afternoon, Cox addressed McCain’s contention that Cox didn’t police “naked short selling” hard enough.
“While I have great respect for Senator McCain, we have sometimes disagreed, and this is one such occasion,” wrote Cox to his staff in an email obtained by Yeas & Nays. “The SEC has made plain that we have zero tolerance for naked short selling. In this market crisis, the men and women of the SEC have responded valiantly as they always do — with the utmost dedication and professionalism. …
“I very much appreciate the strong and immediate support of the president. As someone who’s been in public life for over 20 years, I know as well as anyone that occasionally this sort of thing can come with the territory. The best response to political jabs like this is simply to put your head down and not lose a step doing the best job you can possibly do on behalf of those you serve. For my part, I plan to do just that. I leave the political campaigns to pursue their own course.”
