今年2月，美国著名博客网站《赫芬顿邮报》（Huffington Post）的专栏作者贾森•吉尔伯特在审视了每次库克公开讲话当天苹果的股价表现后，在其文章标题中总结道：

    近来已六度上演：库克一开讲，苹果股价就下跌

    因此，本周二上午，苹果投资者们将电视调到C-Span.org频道，观看库克在美国参议院常设调查委员会亮相时，颇有些战战兢兢。该委员会已经对苹果的离岸避税天堂进行了详尽的调查。

    委员会于本周一发布的工作报告措辞严厉。而《纽约时报》（New York Times）的头版头条也十分尖锐（《苹果避税数十亿美元》）。调查委员会主席卡尔•莱文（密歇根州民主党议员）的新闻稿言辞很激烈：

    “苹果并不满足于将其利润转移到低税收的离岸避税天堂。”莱文说的是苹果的爱尔兰子公司，他称：“苹果在寻求避税的终极途径。它创建了离岸机构，持有数百亿美元，却不在任何地方申报纳税。我们打算揭露苹果的这个把戏以及其它离岸避税策略，让老老实实纳税的美国工薪家庭认清，离岸税收漏洞应该被堵住，因为它们推高了老百姓的税务负担，增加了联邦政府赤字。”

    不过，紧张的苹果投资者没必要这么担心。库克的证词冷静又无懈可击，而且他作完证之后，没有任何人挑战过他。

    参议员们大都对库克十分恭敬，甚至有奉承之嫌。

    克莱尔•麦卡斯基尔（密苏里州民主党议员）一再表示自己是苹果的忠实粉丝。罗恩•约翰逊（威斯康星州共和党议员）称赞苹果公司的避税策略对股东有利。罗布•波特曼（俄亥俄州共和党议员）只想谈自己的税收改革提案。兰德•保罗（肯塔基州共和党议员）认为调查委员会应该向苹果道歉。约翰•麦凯恩（亚利桑那州共和党议员）在大谈了一通逃税之后，想知道自己的iPhone为何老是在更新应用。

    In February, the Huffington Post's Jason Gilbert reviewed the performance of Apple (AAPL) shares on days that Tim Cook spoke in public and concluded, as his headline put it,

    The Last 6 Times Tim Cook Has Talked, Apple's Stock Has Dropped.

    So it was with some trepidation that Apple investors tuned in to C-Span.org Tuesday morning to watch Cook's appearance before the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which had conducted a detailed probe of Apple's offshore tax havens.

    The subcommittee's staff report, released on Monday, was savage. The New York Times' front-page headline was scathing (Billions in Taxes Avoided by Apple...). Chairman Carl Levin's (Dem., Mich.) press release was fierce:

    "Apple wasn't satisfied with shifting its profits to a low-tax offshore tax haven," he said of Apple's Irish subsidiaries. "Apple sought the Holy Grail of tax avoidance. It has created offshore entities holding tens of billions of dollars, while claiming to be tax resident nowhere. We intend to highlight that gimmick and other Apple offshore tax avoidance tactics so that American working families who pay their share of taxes understand how offshore tax loopholes raise their tax burden, add to the federal deficit and ought to be closed."

    But those nervous Apple investors needn't have worried. Cook's testimony was calm and precise, and when it was over, nobody had laid a glove on him.

    The senators, for their part, were mostly respectful -- and on occasion fawning.

    Claire McCaskill (Dem., Mo.) couldn't say often enough how much she loved Apple. Ron Johnson (Rep., Wisc.) praised the company's tax minimization strategies as shareholder friendly. Rob Portman (Rep., Ohio) only wanted to talk about his tax reform proposals. Rand Paul (Rep., Ken.) thought the committee owed Apple an apology. John McCain (Rep., Ariz.), after a bout of tax dodging rhetoric, wanted to know why his iPhone was constantly updating its apps.