Cox by the Numbers

$988,763
Contributions to Rep. Christopher Cox by the financial services industry 1993-2004

1st
Financial services sector's rank among Cox's contributors 1993-2004

21%
Share of Cox's total 1993-2004 contributions received from financial services industry

$214,995
Total brokerage and investment industry contributions to Cox 1993-2004

$188,284
Total accounting industry contributions to Cox 1993-2004

$19,825
Amount given by Cox's largest single donor in the 2004 election cycle, Latham N Watkins.*

*From Latham N Watkins' website:

LATHAM WINS SUPREME COURT CASE OVERTURNING ARTHUR ANDERSEN'S CONVICTION
In a decision widely regarded as having a profound impact on the way in which business is conducted throughout the United States, the accounting firm Arthur Andersen LLP** has prevailed in its appeal to the Supreme Court of a conviction on charges related to its work for Enron. In a unanimous opinion written by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the Supreme Court reversed and remanded for further proceedings a Court of Appeals decision that had upheld Andersen's conviction for “corruptly persuading” employees to discard documents pursuant to terms of its document retention policy. The case was argued by Washington, D.C. partner Maureen Mahoney, who was supported by attorneys of the firm's appellate and constitutional practice including Washington, D.C. associates Scott Ballenger, Matthew Roskoski, Eric Volkman, Jessica Hafer and Ben Wei, and New York partners Alexandra Shapiro and Christopher Harris and associate Seth Friedman. The firm's overall representation of Arthur Andersen in its Enron-related matters is led by litigation partners Miles Ruthberg, Peter Wald and Catherine Palmer. Click here to view the Supreme Court opinion.

*From OC Weekly article “Made in Newport Beach”:

To understand how something like the Enron/Arthur Andersen debacle could happen, go back to 1993. That's when Cox, as part of conservative Republicans' so-called Contract With America, spearheaded efforts to torpedo protections for corporate investors and shield companies—like Enron—and their accountants—like Arthur Andersen—from investor lawsuits.

Claiming “a band of amoral plaintiff lawyers” was responsible for lawsuits that put investors and corporations alike into a “legal torture chamber,” Cox pushed for securities-fraud reform in Congress. Nine hearings were held between 1993 and early 1995 before Cox unveiled his Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

. . . In a recent National Review Online interview, Cox said his reforms' new responsibilities on auditors to report wrongdoing might help Enron shareholders and employees because “Andersen remains a deep pocket, where Enron probably isn't.”

Cox certainly knows how deep Andersen's pockets are. Federal Elections Commission data show that between 1989 and 2001, Andersen's employees and political-action committee gave Cox $21,750—three times more than their combined contributions to the rest of Orange County's congressional delegation. Between 1995 and 2000, Cox received $125,109 from the accounting industry, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.