Responding to a claim by a lawyer for Nancy Heinan, the other former Apple exec caught in the suit, that "every action that Nancy took was fully understood and authorized by Apple's board of directors," the SEC pointedly rejected her defense.
"The board, as they should, looked to general counsel for legal advice and she led them down this illegal path," said SEC staff attorney Sahil Desai.
In other words, it was Heinan's (and presumably Anderson's) job to make sure the backdating was legally done, not the board's and not the CEO's. Heinan, who is fighting the SEC charges, was unavailable for comment.