Some interesting facts, and slants on the facts, are beginning to emerge in the wake of the SEC's insider trading lawsuit against Mark Cuban.
One of Cuban's attorneys, Stephen Best, posted an interesting transcript of an interview with the former Mamma.com CEO conducted by his defense attorneys. In the interview, Guy Faure admits not being able to recall what Cuban's response was when he told the billionaire he had some confidential information to share with him.
Cuban's Attorney, Christopher Clark: We spoke earlier about you were telling Mr. Cuban in words or substance : “I have confidential information for you”.
Faure: Right.
Clark: Do you recall anything Mr. Cuban said in response or reply to that statement by you?
Faure: No, I do not.
Best goes on to write in Cuban's blog: "The SEC knows this-they have the transcript, yet they brought the case anyway. Why? Do they have a different statement from Mr. Faure ?
"Why did the SEC end their multi-year investigation of Mamma.com Inc. for alleged securities laws violations days before interviewing present and former Mamma.com Inc. executives about this matter? Was the timing a coincidence? We think not."
Cuban's brother, Brian, an attorney, posted on his own blog under the headline, "My brother is not Martha Stewart."
And Floyd Norris, the chief financial correspondent for The New York Times, had a fascinating post in his blog in which he shares the text of a threatening email sent from an SEC attorney to Cuban during the insider trading investigation. The lawyer, Jeffrey Norris -- no relation to the Times writer -- chastised Cuban in the email for his role in supporting the film "Loose Change," which was highly critical of the Bush Administration.
The funny thing is, Norris' blog on the Times' Web site isn't labeled as a blog, even though that's what it is. The reporters who chatted with Cuban before the Mavericks-Knicks game at the Garden on Sunday night had a good laugh with him when Cuban was informed that the Times was no longer using the term "blog." Cuban suggested months ago that newspapers were devaluing their product by lumping it in with Joe Sixpack blogging in his basement. (Neil Best, no relation to Cuban's attorney, blogs in his basement. But he's a pro -- and gets good traffic.)
For this and other reasons, this Cuban investigation doesn't pass the smell test. There is no way he is dumb, arrogant, or naive enough to make a monumental and obvious mistake like this. There's got to be more to the story than we know.