Senators allegedly use intel on coronavirus to dump stocks and save millions

Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Richard Burr (R-NC). Photo by Reuters

By Aaron Sincere Kershaw

Republican Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), chairman of the Senate Intel Committee, has been accused of profiting from the coronavirus outbreak by selling stocks impacted by the pandemic by using insider knowledge afforded to him in a closed-door briefing early this year.

If true, this form of insider trading violates the Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, which Burr vehemently opposed at the time of its passing.

Burr said in an interview in 2012, "it's insane," when referring to the anti-corruption legislation. 

Now, many are demanding Burr's resignation, sighting this as a betrayal to the American people. 

Conservative Fox News host Tucker Carlson criticized Burr and demanded answers on Friday saying, "For a public servant, it's pretty hard to imagine many things more immoral than doing this. Richard Burr had critical information that might've helped the people he is sworn to protect, but he hid that information and helped only himself."

Carlson's guest, GAI President, and best-selling author Peter Schweizer took a harsher tone.

"It needs to be looked at by the Department of Justice, and frankly, I think he needs to resign and be prosecuted."

In response to these allegations, Burr said in a statement, "I relied solely on public news reports to guide my decision regarding the sale of stocks on February 13." 

Whether Burr's stock dump was unlawful or violated Senate rules is to be determined. Still, Burr did possess information other Americans didn't when he acted, which was enough to attract scrutiny. 

Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler also under scrutiny

Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) attended the same closed-door meeting as Burr and likewise sold stocks with values between $1.275 million to $3.1 million saving a portion of her fortune in the process.

According to Breitbart, Georgia Republicans voiced concerns back in 2019 of appointing Loeffler, who at the time was the CEO of Bakkt, a bitcoin trading platform. Tea Party co-founder Debbie Dooley called Loeffler a "country club Republican," and advocated for the appointment of Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) instead.

The term "country club Republican" is an expression often used to define Republicans who inherited great wealth but are yet too liberal with regards to social issues such as abortion or gay rights. 

Senator Kelly Loeffler and husband New York Stock Exchange chairman Jeffrey Sprecher. AP Photo/Richard Drew

Loeffler is married to the New York Stock Exchange's chairman Jeffrey Sprecher, who is well aware of the impropriety of insider trading. 

Loeffler attempted to set the record straight on Fox New's "America's Newsroom," saying, "I'm not involved in the decisions around buying and selling. There's a range of different decisions made every day with regard to my savings and 401K portfolios that I'm not involved in."

Loeffler may now find herself susceptible to both the Department of Justice and Senate Ethics Committee investigations.

Other Senators now under scrutiny for possible insider trading include Republican James Inhofe of Oklahoma and Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein of California. Both deny any wrongdoing.