Came here to say this. Everyone on HN likes to think they understand the nuances of insider trading but the reality is that the law is woefully unclear, highly fact dependent, and constantly changing with each new case. These are wealthy defendants so they can afford to appeal and throw all kinds of legal arguments out there and see what sticks.

It is ambiguous.

The only thing I can say with absolute certainty about insider trading is that anyone who can confidently say XYZ is or isn’t insider trading doesn’t know what they’re talking about.