And that, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), is our response to your questions about 19 (20) suspicious trades by hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors.  And your next question  is ... 

Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), after initially questioning the SEC on 19 (20) suspicious trades by hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors that FINRA had referred - the Senator now expanded his inquiry to 65 trades.  “This substantially expands the number of referrals in the S.E.C.’s possession to 65 which, thus far, you have provided no evidence that the S.E.C. has investigated or acted upon,” he wrote in a letter to SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro.

New revelations = more heat to an already sizzling confrontation.  SEC Enforcement Director Khuzami "fanned the flames" last week by telling the Senator that the SEC “generally do[es] not comment on the status of investigations or related referrals.”  That, obviously did not sit well with Mr. Grassley, who chastised the Commission the very next day. 

On Wednesday, 6/15, in his letter, the Senator implored the SEC to reconsider its position since some of the referrals dated back a decade or more and were therefore beyond the statue of limitations - he also cited 46 more referrals.  They had been mentioned in original documents Mr. Grassley received from FINRA, but with few details.  These referrals apparently weren't from Finra, but from exchanges, such as the NYSE. 

SAC Capital issued a statement saying that it has nothing to do with the current inquiries, noting:  “referrals by FINRA are the result of surveillance of marketwide trading activity and they are neither findings nor allegations of insider trading.  Given the size of our firm, our active investment style, and the period covered, we are not surprised by the number of referrals. SAC has always cooperated fully with regulators and will continue to do so.”

How is Ms. Schapiro going to extricate her Agency out of this predicament?   [Dealbook, 6/15]