"A Project On Government Oversight study of thousands of government records found that former staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) routinely:

• Tried to help corporations influence agency rulemaking;
  
• Defended companies suspected of wrongdoing;
  
• Helped companies soften the blow of enforcement actions;
  
• Won exemptions from federal law for their clients; and
  
• Secured the agency’s blessing for companies to block shareholder proposals on issues such as executive pay."