Editing Harken Energy scandal (section)

==Formal troubles==
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There are also questions about when federal regulators were informed of the sale, and whether Bush tried to hide this information. Newspapers have alleged that though the law requires prompt disclosure of insider sales, Bush neglected to inform the SEC about his transaction until 34 weeks had passed. Even though he had broken the law, no charges were filed. Many have linked this to his father's [[George H. W. Bush#Presidency .281989.E2.80.931993.29|position as president]].

The reality of the matter is somewhat different. Although these articles usually do not mention it, only one of the two disclosure forms Bush was required to file with the SEC was delayed in its filing. The "Notice of Proposed Sale of Securities" Form 144, was filed on the day of the sale, June 22, 1990, thereby clearing Bush of the intent to hide or not disclose. Bush filed the second form, Form 4, the following year, in 1991, due to "a mix up with the attorneys". Because the stock sale information had indeed been disclosed, and duly filed in a timely manner via Form 144, the tardy filing of Form 4 was not viewed as a serious or punishable offense. It appears that the late filing of Form 4 was not considered serious by the SEC at the time.