Senator Burr’s Cell Phone Seized In ‘Significant Escalation’ Of Stock Sale Probe

TOPLINE

A cell phone belonging to Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) was seized by the FBI Wednesday according to multiple reports, as part of an investigation into controversial stock sales the senator made in February as the coronavirus began spreading across the U.S.

KEY FACTS

Key background

ProPublica first reported that Burr, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, sold between $628,000 and $1.72 million of shares on February 13⁠— one week before the stock market plummeted⁠—and after attending private briefings on coronavirus. Audio obtained by NPR revealed that Burr’s selloff came right before a speech he made that predicted measures such as shutting schools and reducing air travel. The development ignited a furor and Burr was met from calls to resign by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Burr asked for the Senate’s ethics committee to investigate him, and has said he does not plan to run for reelection in 2022.

Tangent

Other senators were caught up in the stock trading controversy. Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)— who, per financial disclosures and also reported by ProPublica, the Center for Responsive Politics and the Daily Beast, sold large amounts of stock to avoid financial harm caused by the pandemic. Loeffler said April 8 she will liquidate her individual stocks and denied wrongdoing. A Feinstein spokesperson said in March that the senator’s spouse made the transactions, and that her assets are in a blind trust.

Further reading

Two Senators Sold Off Stock Weeks Before Coronavirus Crashed The Market (Forbes)

Burr Asks For Ethics Investigation Over Senate Stock Scandal (Forbes)

Senator Loeffler Discloses Additional Millions In Stock Sales, Inflaming Insider Trading Suspicions (Forbes)

Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler Will Liquidate Her Individual Stocks After Coronavirus Trading Controversy (Forbes)

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