Thoughts on the request from the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 26 for a "voluntary production of documents" and the timeline of events.
Hello Hello, apes of r/Superstonk, neighborhood jellyfish here with a smooth-brained take and recap of the recent timeline.
By now we have all seen the SEC verbiage in the Quarterly Report:
'5/26' 'SEC investigation' 'our securities and other companies
I feel like those 3 phrases confirm what a lot of Apes already expected--Ryan Cohen was in Washington DC to meet with the SEC and was also asked by them to remove the Oops *moass* my bad tweet.
Why do I think this? As of 5/26, the SEC was in a position to make a document request of GameStop. Now the language doesn't make clear in what form that request is coming, but my bet it was a subpoena (required if they are requesting any sort of banking information).
Examining the SEC Enforcement Manual there are formal Orders and Process to any investigation (I warn you I have highlighted a lot, but the big takeaway is there is a whole dog and pony show for the bureaucracy that has to take place before the SEC starts any enforcement action investigation):
Nonpublic: aka, we wouldn't know if GameStop didn't disclose in the filing...
I don't know about you, but even rocking templates, having worked for a regulator in a tangentially related field in a past life, any sort of draft memo or proposed order would take some time to craft then pass through review with legal before any further action is taken.
I am of course speculating here, but I imagine this process takes a few days at a minimum. Plus, the new Head of Enforcement (Alex Oh) wasn't appointed to her position until 4/22.
Like GG, I am sure it would take her a minute to get up to speed--remember all the 'I've been on the job 3 weeks' memes a couple of weeks back
Thank you for the question though!
But wait, Alex Oh came in on a Thursday but by the very next Wednesday (not even a week) she resigned her position--and Melissa Hodgman had to step back in as Acting Director.
So, the new person came in on 4/22 for less than a week, learned all the juicy details, began setting stuff up their way as the boss, then abruptly peaces out on 4/28.
Yeah, the resignation itself is Sus, but back to our timeline and bureaucracy to get an investigation started, Melissa Hodgman is taking back the reins (in an Acting Director capacity only again) on 4/29.
I am going to assume (Yes, I know that can make an ass of u and me) it took her the last two days of the month to unkink whatever Alex Oh did in her half a Scaramucci of service time to the nation. Also, I am going to assume that any orders an 'Acting' Director pursue are going to be extra thorough and complete as they clearly aren't the chosen person for the position long term and cant be creating headaches for the new person if/when they start?
They might also have a chip in the shoulder...
So, if we've established it takes a minute to get investigations started (I am sure it would go faster if everything stored on PornHub..) and that this likely didn't start until 5/3 since Melissa got yo-yo'd back into the position, I think it is reasonable to assume that the leg work for the formal order of investigation was completed around 5/7 to seek the formal order of investigation.
Plus, remember, from what GameStop has told us, it isn't the only company being looked at in this investigation. If they are calling it an SEC Investigation, I feel confident that is likely generalized legalize for a formal order which has subpoena power to request documents on 5/26.
Back to the timeline, if the formal order comes down 5/7, it makes sense that our Chairman was in the DC area to participate in the closed meeting held on 5/13.
Buckle Up - Ryan Cohen's Dad
I also now think it was no accident that the 5/12 Oops *moass* my bad tweet was asked/told to be taken down because there is now an ongoing formal order of investigation, the subject of which, is the MOASS.
TL:DR - I believe the legalese chosen and date given in the quarterly filing adds to/confirms Ryan Cohen giving evidence on 5/13 and being asked\told to take down the *moass* tweet.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
