Mark Cuban indictment comes soon after funding of watchdog Website

November 17, 12:36 PMCivil Liberties ExaminerJ.D. Tuccille

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Mark Cuban
Photo: James Duncan Davidson/O'Reilly Media, Inc.

Mark Cuban, celebrity businessman of "Dancing with the Stars" fame, the Dallas Mavericks and several movie roles, has been charged with insider trading. Says Wired:

The complaint claims that in 2004 Cuban learned of a private offering of Mamma.com (now known as Copernic) that would decrease the value of his 600,000 shares. It says he then sold off his stake and as a result, reportedly saved $750,000.

Coincidentally, I'm sure, Cuban recently bankrolled the site, BailoutSleuth.com, which is tasked with tracking the distribution of the federal government's $700 billion boondoggle ... err ... bailout.

Note that Senator Jim Inhofe told the Tulsa World on Saturday, "It is just outrageous that the American people don't know that Congress doesn't know how much money he (Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson) has given away to anyone. It could be to his friends. It could be to anybody else. We don't know. There is no way of knowing.''

Not that I'm jumping to any conclusions, but ... Interesting timing, that. It would be unkind of me, and certainly unfounded, to suggest that an indictment could be used as a retaliatory measure against a high-profile gadfly who has the potential to embarrass powerful people.

And as a warning to others who might do the same.

Contact J.D.: civilliberties (at) tuccille.com