WASHINGTON — The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday there was no connection between the timing of the agency’s fraud charges against Goldman Sachs and efforts in the Senate to speed passage of sweeping legislation overhauling financial regulation.
SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro was speaking to a Senate panel weighing the agency’s budget request. Some Republicans have accused the SEC of timing the April 16 announcement of civil fraud charges against Goldman to bolster prospects for the legislation.
Schapiro, asked if there was a connection, said: “Absolutely not. We don’t time our enforcement actions by the legislative calendar or by anybody else’s wishes. We bring our cases when we have the law and the facts we believe support bringing our cases.”
The Associated Press
