Technically, I Didn't Do Anything Wrong…(LZ, BRK.A, BRK.B)

Having resigned his position as a top manager at Berkshire Hathaway BRKBRK, David Sokol has spent the morning with numerous media outlets protesting his innocence. Yes, he bought 96,0000 Lubrizol LZ shares less than two weeks before proposing it as a takeover target to Warren Buffett, but he says that the fact that he went public with the information cleanses him of any wrong-doing. It is a tenuous argument, akin to a young child saying “it wasn't me”. “I can understand the appearance issue and that's why we made it public,” said Sokol. In other words, “hey, it's not as bad as it looks.” Of course, Sokol is not the first public figure to lean on the “technicality” argument. Bill Clinton raised the bar pretty high with his “I did not have sexual relations” defense. Lindsay Lohan temporarily escaped jail when her cocaine was initially confused for a breath mint by a police officer. Later, a dried out Lohan audaciously declared that, hey, maybe the cop was correct the first time, all the while her hands twitching. So Sokol is in good company. Desperate people resort to technicalities. But sometimes, isn't a simple “sorry” the better approach?