Cuban's Insider Trading Charge: Payback For Anti-Bush Movie?

Wow, when I made the post below, I did not expect the Mark Cuban story to develop this quickly, bizarrely and intensely.

A person close to Mark Cuban, has told DealBook that an SEC employee had sent Cuban e-mails several times over the last year or so, accusing him of being unpatriotic. Cuban was today charged by the SEC with insider trading. The emails from the SEC employee raised concerns about Cuban’s involvement as producer of “Loose Change”, a documentary that accuses the Bush administration of engineering the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as a pretext for the Iraq war.

The Cuban camp contends this semi-coherent email was sent by SEC employee Jeffrey Norris:

From: Norris, Jeffrey B.
Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 2:27 PM
To: Mark Cuban
Cc: Cox, Christopher

Subject: RE: “Lose Change”

I AM SHARING THIS WITH CHAIRMAN COX. NEITHER HE NOR THE COMMISSION ENDORSE MY OPINIONS, BUT IN LIGHT OF YOUR THREAT, I THOUGHT SHOULD SEND THIS TO HIM.

Mark:

If this upsets you, I wonder how George Bush feels. I assume that Mr. Cox would view your involvement with “Loose Change” much as I do. After all, he served his country as a Republican Congressman from Orange County for nearly 20 years and was appointed by President Bush. If you feel like sharing my thoughts with Chairman Cox, be my guest.

Previously, I thought you were merely foolish and naïve (sic). Now, however, I see that you are also a hypocrite. I guess your belief in free speech has severe limitations. If someone else is the victim of an absurd conspiracy theory, you defend your right to participate in smearing the good name of of a patriot like President Bush. But, when you are the subject of a parody of the attack you have endorsed, you suddenly issue threats.

I think I will e-mail this to Chairman Cox myself. I think he will enjoy it. I’m sure he is also a Laker (sic)fan.

Since Chairman Cox may not know the background, I will explain. Mark Cuban is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and has participated in distributing the vicious and absurd documentary, “Loose Change,” which posits that President Bush planned the demolition of the World Trade Center as a pretext for going to war against Iraq. We have had some past exchanges about my opinion the Mr. Cuban’s support for this project is irresponsible and immoral. Below, I parodied his position that every opinion, no matter how absurd and vicious, deserves to be broadly disseminated.

Curiously, SEC chairman Christopher Cox recused himself from the commission vote on whether to bring charges against Cuban.

In a statement, an S.E.C. spokesman told DealBook that the insider-trading investigation was run out of the Commission’s Washington headquarters. Norris worked out of a regional office and had no role in or knowledge of the investigation. He was “referred for disciplinary action,” the spokesman said.

But, the regional SEC office turns out to be Fort Worth, TX and Norris is listed on numerous public court filings (See here, here and here) as a Senior Trial Counsel, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, Fort Worth, TX Cuban lives next door in Dallas.