It has been my method, in examining the conduct of large concerns, to set down the facts in the order in which they occurred and to let the reader draw his own conclusions from the sequence. I do not accuse. I assemble the record. Let us begin with the calendar.

There is a particular kind of document that rewards patience. It is not the speech, which is written to be believed; it is not the press release, which is written to be forgotten by Thursday. It is the memorandum written by a professional to a superior who does not wish to hear it. I have spent a career reading such documents, and I can tell you they are always written the same way: carefully, plainly, and in a tone that tries very hard not to sound like an accusation, because the writer still hopes to keep his job.