Mr. Cochran is a lifetime conservative and Republican; served as a political appointee of the Reagan Administration from 1983 until 1988; was a Republican counsel on Capitol Hill; and was nominated by President George W. Bush for a Presidential appointment. He is an attorney and former CPA and, for eleven years, directed government auditors and analysts at the Commerce Department Office of Inspector General in numerous reviews of waste, fraud, and abuse by Commerce agencies and aid recipients. From early 2001 through 2003, Mr. Cochran was senior oversight counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Financial Services, chaired by Rep. Michael Oxley (R-OH). He conducted oversight activities and investigations ranging from major identity theft and housing fraud cases to federal money laundering and anti-terrorist financing issues. He also led investigations into the corporate accounting scandals, including the first Congressional hearings on Enron, Global Crossing, and WorldCom. In 2007, President Bush nominated him to be the Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency. He withdrew from the nomination after his confirmation hearing, when it became apparent he was unlikely to be recommended by the committee to the Senate for confirmation. He earned a B.S. in Accounting (
cum laude) from Miami University (Ohio), and a M.B.A. (
magna cum laude) and J.D. from the University of Notre Dame. He is a Madison Club-level member of the Federalist Society and has served on the Executive Committee of the Financial Services and E-Commerce Practice Group. He is a Member of
Tea Party Nation and
Tea Party Patriots and posts entries on both sites.
