Your word, harassment, is the perfect word for what has happened here.  There was no due process, KMAG and the other firms were simply judged as guilty by the SEC who had questions but never asked.  They simply suspended them on spurious questions and left them to die.

IMO it was all U.S. election politics.  Everyone knew it would be a very close election and those in power did everything possible to sway votes.   The SEC did their part and made themselves look very efficient with a record year on suspensions, innocence of the parties condemned  be damned.