Securities: Congress Looks at Hurd's Trading

Mark Hurd has been asked by a Members of the House investigation committee why he exercised options before Hewlett-Packard's spying tactics were revealed to the public. On August 25, Hurd cashed $1.37 million worth of options; this is the same day that lawyers began questioning Hurd about HP's board leak investigation. Hurd also was asked whether he had information about the company that could have proven damaging to the company when he cashed the options.

Congress looks into trading by HP CEO

At the time that Hurd cashed the options, HP had not yet told the public that its investigators had obtained the phone records of board members and reporters in order to determine the source of board room leaks. Such activity, known as pretexting, is illegal, and led to the resignation of HP Chairman Patricia Dunn. "A key issue in the Subcommittee's investigation is how much Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) management knew about the board-leak investigation, when they knew it, and what actions they took in response," said a letter written by the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.