Questioned Motives

This week Apple's top leadership was before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to be questioned about their practices for paying taxes when an interesting thing happened.



Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) apologized to Apple CEO Tim Cook on behalf of the subcommittee. 

This seemingly strange move (strange in that most US Senators don't apologize for much of anything) has been called into question now by several sources. One of the most interesting of which is Open Secrets.

While it is something that would raise an eyebrow or two, just because its out of the norm doesn't mean it has an ulterior motive.

If you watch the complete hearing (available on C-Span) you can see the complete context of his commentary, and if you have followed the Senator's career for any length of time you know that he represents a very limited government, libertarian viewpoint.  So it stands to reason that he would be quick to push back on government attacking a company for complying with federal laws as they exist (and as was defended by the senators themselves and the first panel at the hearing).

So why are organizations calling into question Sen. Rand Paul's commentary?

Because he is flying to Silicon Valley this week.  People claim it is a suck up to tech-execs.

Regardless of any of the perceptions on the issue of Apple, their taxpaying practices, or Rand Paul, the point stands...

You have to realize people will question your motives.  Don't be afraid of it, prepare for the eventuality.