(Yahoo!Finance) - National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) filed a Complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today against Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway for silencing and ordering the arrest of the group’s chairman, Peter Flaherty, at the company’s shareholders’ meeting on May 6, 2023
At the meeting, Flaherty spoke in favor of NLPC’s shareholder proposal for an independent chairman. Buffett is currently both Chairman and CEO.
Flaherty cited the reputational risk to the company posed by Warren Buffett’s close identification with Bill Gates and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and its “woke” policies to which Buffett has contributed tens of billions. Flaherty pointed to Gates' association with Jeffrey Epstein, even after Epstein had been convicted of sex crimes against minors.
From the Complaint:
We hereby request that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initiate a formal investigation, including the issuance of subpoenas, and take appropriate administrative and civil enforcement action against Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Berkshire), Warren Buffett, its Chairman and CEO, and other Berkshire officers and agents, for their unlawful conduct during the annual shareholders’ meeting in Omaha, Nebraska on May 6, 2023.
During his authorized and SEC-mandated presentation in support of Proposal No. 8 for an independent chair, Peter Flaherty, Chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), was interrupted by a Berkshire executive, had his microphone cut, and was arrested for trespassing because Warren Buffett, its CEO and Chairman, did not like what Mr. Flaherty had to say in support of NLPC’s proposal. In addition to imposing appropriate sanctions, the SEC should issue a cease and desist order against Berkshire from prematurely terminating NLPC’s and any other shareholder’s presentation at future annual shareholder meetings
Events since the arrest have confirmed the importance of the issue. Last weekend, the Wall Street Journal published a lengthy story with new details about Epstein’s interactions with Gates and other wealthy individuals. On Monday, a federal judge ensured that the issue will stay alive in the new year when she ordered that the names of Epstein associates be made public.
From the Complaint:
NLPC further requests that the following enforcement and remedial actions be taken to ensure that NLPC’s rights as shareholders in the Company are protected and to remediate the violation of the rights of all other shareholders that took place by depriving them of the right to hear Mr. Flaherty’s statement supporting the proposal on May 6, 2023:
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Declare that Berkshire’s actions cutting off the mic of Mr. Flaherty before his allotted three-minutes to speak expired, having him expelled from the annual meeting, and subsequently arrested, constitute a violation of SEC’s rules and policies designed to protect shareholder rights.
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Order Berkshire to issue an apology on its website to NLPC and Mr. Flaherty for cutting his mic and having him arrested.
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Order Berkshire to post a video of Mr. Flaherty’s full uninterrupted three-minute prepared remarks on Berkshire’s website for at least three years, along with a written transcript.
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Issue a Cease and Desist Order that Berkshire shall refrain from prematurely terminating the oral presentation of Mr. Flaherty and any other proponent for an authorized shareholder proxy proposal or interrupting, harassing, or having them expelled from the meeting or arrested at future meetings as long as their presentation is in within the allotted time given by the company.
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Any and all other relief that the Commission deems just and appropriate.
Click here for the Complaint. Click here for Complaint Exhibits.
The Complaint includes links to three videos that together provide a complete account of what took place.
What Flaherty said before his mic was cut:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egy8kpUaOIY
Security moves in on Flaherty:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQOx7FAAGbU&t=0s
The arrest:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErHXIrDNz14
NLPC Counsel Paul Kamenar, who submitted the Complaint, concludes:
"Berkshire’s and Mr. Buffett’s actions are an ominous precedent for the rights of shareholders that cannot be allowed to stand. We believe that the silencing and arrest of a shareholder during their presentation on behalf of their proposal at the annual meeting of a public company in the United States is unprecedented, should be sanctioned, and should not allowed to be repeated."
NLPC has already filed a proposal on the risks of Berkshire’s business in China for the 2024 annual meeting.
Founded in 1991, the National Legal and Policy Center promotes ethics in public life through research, investigation, education and legal action.
Contact Details
National Legal and Policy Center
Dan Rene
Company Website
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