pursuing the [SEC / Morgan Stanley] investigation, abruptly reversed — and downgraded — his performance reviews, and then unceremoniously fired him ..

Undue Influence at the SEC? | Thursday, Aug. 16, 2007 By KEN STIER
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... The assignment was heady stuff, a hedge fund insider-trading case that possibly involved one of Wall Street's top executives, John J. Mack, the current CEO of Morgan Stanley. Aguirre threw himself into it with furious energy, and was not intimidated going up against dozens of defense lawyers. That was until his bosses withdrew their support of how he was pursuing the investigation, abruptly reversed — and downgraded — his performance reviews, and then unceremoniously fired him on the last day of his first annual vacation on Sept. 1, 2005.

Through Aguirre's persistence, the ensuing spat spilled over to Capitol Hill. The Senate Judiciary Committee ended up holding three hearings, and in early August issued — jointly with the Finance Committee — a damning, 108-page report that largely backs up Aguirre's allegations of outside interference in an SEC investigation. In highlighting institutional deference to Wall Street bigwigs, arbitrary personnel practices and a dysfunctional inspector general's office, the report seriously calls into question how effectively the SEC is carrying out its mission of policing U.S. capital markets, especially at a time when new opportunities for insider trading are proliferating.
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... Aguirre claims all these accusations were concocted after the fact, and were never part of his paper record. He had just gotten a raise, and had glowing evaluations before the meltdown, he notes; as for his "unprofessional" deposition of Samberg, Hilton Foster, a now retired staff trainer, wanted to include it as a model in his course material.