Some big wig members of Congress want to know why HP CEO Mark Hurd exercised and sold $1.37 million in stock options on August 25. This was before it was disclosed that one of HP’s board members was leaving and during the ongoing investigation of HP’s boardroom scandal.

Hurd would be a big fish for the new Democratic congress to land.

The HP CEO’s sales of stock was certainly ill-timed. Whether its was a bet the HP’s stock might drop is another matter. The stock stayed steady, so Hurd’s argument could be "no harm, no foul".

The Congressmen who asked Hurd about the matter want a written response from him in the next couple of weeks. It is unlikely that they will leave it at that.

Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at douglasamcintyre@247wallst.com. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.