Ex-SEC Chairman's records deemed private

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Randall <rvh40 () insightbb com>
Date: July 30, 2004 11:48:45 PM EDT
To: Cn <cuckoosnest () riddlemaster org>
Cc: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Ex-SEC Chairman's records deemed private

http://money.excite.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt.jsp? 
section=news&cat=INDUSTRY&feed=dji&news_id=dji 
-00081820040730&date=20040730


WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Harvey Pitt's telephone logs, message slips and
appointment calendars from his stint as Securities and Exchange
Commission chairman are personal records that need not be turned over to
the media, a federal court ruled this week.

The U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia also
upheld the SEC's decision to withhold notes on meetings Pitt had with a
Big Four accounting chief and with Wall Street executives regarding
analysts' conflicts.

The July 28 ruling is a blow to Bloomberg L.P., the New York media
company that had made a half-dozen requests for the documents in 2002
under the Freedom of Information Act.

Bloomberg and the SEC both sought summary judgment after the SEC
rebuffed the requests. The SEC claimed most of the records were not
"agency records" that would be subject to the Freedom of Information
Act, and said others were exempt from release.



The requests came as Pitt was coming under fire in the media for meeting
with individuals he had formerly represented in his private law
practice.

The U.S. District Court sided squarely with the SEC. Although Pitt's
calendar was maintained on the SEC's computer system, the court found it
was intended " for his own personal use" rather than to create an
official record of his schedule.

Pitt's calendar showed business appointments, but also contained
personal and social meetings and events, doctor's appointments and
birthdays for family members and friends, the court pointed out, and was
available only to Pitt and his immediate staff, not others at the SEC.

The fact that the calendar was kept on SEC computers didn't sway the
court, either. It noted the SEC allows employees to make limited
personal use of office equipment, and said using a government computer
to create a document doesn't necessarily make it an official government
record.

The court took the same position on Pitt's telephone logs and message
slips, and on notes Pitt's chief of staff took during an April 2002
meeting Pitt had with KPMG LLP Chief Executive Eugene O'Kelly, agreeing
they are personal records outside of the scope of the Freedom of
Information Act.

In another blow to Bloomberg, the court upheld the SEC's denial of its
request for documents on a November 2001 meeting on conflicts on Wall
Street. The news agency sought notes taken by SEC staffers on the
meeting with officials from the New York Stock Exchange, the National
Association of Securities Dealers and several brokerage firms. The SEC
declined, claiming an exemption for material produced during an agency's
deliberations that reflect the personal opinions of the author rather
than the agency.

Since the meeting was meant to provide a candid criticism of problems on
Wall Street, the SEC was right to withhold the notes, the court said. It
said regulators would be hampered if meeting participants don't feel
free to talk openly at such sessions, or if the thoughts and
recommendations of the SEC's top staff were "exposed" prior to a final
decision on a policy matter.

Bloomberg won a small victory, as the court didn't reach a decision on
its request for some SEC staff e-mails. The SEC had sought more time to
reply when the appeal was lodged. The court ordered it to turn over any
documents that are subject to the Freedom of Information Act, or explain
why it is withholding them.

Pitt didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bloomberg hasn't decided on its next step.

"It's too early to talk about an appeal at this point," said Bloomberg
spokeswoman Judith Czelusniak.

Bloomberg is the parent company of Bloomberg News, a financial and
business news service that competes with Dow Jones & Co. (DJ), the
publisher of this newswire.

-By Judith Burns, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6692;
Judith.Burns () dowjones com

  Dow Jones Newswires
  07-30-04 1938ET

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