U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara prevailed yesterday in persuading the Justice Department to ask the Supreme Court to review an appellate court ruling that sharply narrowed the definition of insider trading, the New York Times reported today. Donald B. Verrilli Jr., the solicitor general, filed a petition with the court asking the justices to examine the ruling by a three-judge appeals panel in December that overturned the convictions of two hedge fund managers, Anthony Chiasson and Todd Newman. Bharara has argued for months that the ruling will make it more difficult for federal prosecutors to pursue insider trading cases in the future and could open the door to more rogue trading on Wall Street. In his petition, the solicitor general said that the appellate decision “unjustifiably impedes the government’s ability to restrain and punish” those who provide confidential tips and those who benefit from them. The ruling, Verrilli said, will “hurt market participants, disadvantage scrupulous market analysts and impair the government’s ability to protect the fairness and integrity of the securities markets.”
