The
North Carolina Republican turned his cellphone over to federal agents, the
newspaper reported, citing an unidentified law enforcement official. Another
unnamed law enforcement official told the paper that the FBI previously had
used another warrant to obtain access to Burr’s Apple iCloud account as part of
its investigation.
Burr came under scrutiny after
ProPublica reported
On the same day, Burr’s
brother-in-law, Gerald Fauth, a member of the National Mediation Board, sold between $97,000 and
$280,000 worth of shares in six companies
Before his sell-off, Burr had assured the public
that the federal government was well-prepared to handle the virus. In a Feb. 7
op-ed that he co-authored with another senator, he said “the United States
today is better prepared than ever before to face emerging public health
threats, like the coronavirus.”
That month however, according
to a recording obtained by NPR, Burr had given a VIP group at an exclusive
social club a much more dire preview of the economic impact of the coronavirus,
warning it could curtail business travel, cause schools to be closed and result
in the military mobilizing to compensate for overwhelmed hospitals.
Burr’s Senate spokesperson
declined to comment, as did the FBI.
Burr has defended his
actions, saying he relied solely on public information, including CNBC reports,
to inform his trades and did not rely on information he obtained as a senator.
ProPublica has also reported
that Burr has frequently traded in medical stocks fertilizer townhouse
Do you know where Richard Burr resides in Washington, D.C.? If so,
or if you have any other tips about Burr or the stock trades of other
government officials, email Robert.faturechi@propublica.org or
reach him on Signal at 213-271-7217.
Revealed: Four senators dumped millions in
stocks while Capitol Hill was being briefed on the coronavirus threat but
BEFORE markets started tanking
·
Richard Burr, head of the Senate Intelligence Committee which was
directly briefed on coronavirus, sold up to $1.7m in stock between January and
February
·
·
Dianne Feinstein, on the same committee, sold up to $6m in stock in same
period
·
·
Kelly Loeffler, on the Senate Health Committee, sold up to $3.1m in
stock starting on the day her committee was briefed by the CDC
·
·
James Inhofe sold up to $400k in stocks including real estate all on
January 27
PUBLISHED: 17:02
EDT, 19 March 2020 | UPDATED: 10:17 EDT, 20 March 2020
·
Four senators dumped millions of dollars worth
of stock while Capitol Hill was being briefed on the threat of coronavirus but
before the markets tanked as infections soared, disclosure records have
revealed.
Republicans
Richard Burr, Kelly Loeffler and James Inhofe and Democrat Dianne Feinstein
collectively offloaded up to $11million in stock between late January and early
February, according to records seen by The Daily Beast , New York Times and ProPublica .
Burr, chair of the Senate Intelligence
Committee that was directly briefed on coronavirus, sold up to $1.7million in
stock including in hotels, according to reporting from ProPublica.
Feinstein, a member of the same
committee, sold up to $6million in stock including in a biotech firm.
Loeffler dumped up to $3.1million in
investments starting on the day the Senate Health Committee, which she sits on,
was briefed by the CDC. Meanwhile James Inhofe sold up to $400,000 in stock
including real estate.
Loeffler and Feinstein have defended
themselves, saying their stocks are invested in trusts and portfolios that they
have no personal control over. Inhofe has not commented.
Burr's spokeswoman said in a statement to
DailyMail.com that Burr filed his financial disclosure form several weeks
before the markets showed 'volatility.'
The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge
Act prohibits members of Congress from insider trading based on classified
information they have received in briefings.
+10
·
The chairman of the House Intelligence
Committee, Sen. Richard Burr, knew of the coming coronavirus crisis three weeks
ago and divulged details of the chaos that would ensue to a group of well-heeled
constituents
+10
·
Sen Kelly Loeffler (pictured) reportedly sold
$3.1million in stock with the first sale made on January 24, the same day her
committee was briefed by the CDC
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·
Sen. Jim Inhofe, a Republican from
Oklahoma, sold up to $400k all on January 27
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·
Dianne Feinstein who sits on the
Intelligence Committee which was also briefed on coronavirus, sold up to $6m in
stock
According
to The Daily Beast , Sen Kelly Loeffler and her husband, Jeffrey
Sprecher, the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, sold $3.1million in
stock between late January and early February.
The first sale was in the firm Resideo
Technologies worth between $50,001 and $100,000 and made on January 24, the
same day her committee - the Senate Health Committee - held a briefing with the
CDC.
The stock has since halved in value.
During the same period the couple made just
two purchases, one of which was stock in a tele-working company that has seen
an increase in price amid office shutdowns.
Meawnhile Richard Burr, Republican chair of
the Senate Intelligence Committee which was being briefed on coronavirus,
offloaded between $582,029 and $1.56million of his stock holdings in
mid-February.
Burr later went on to warn people at a
meeting in Washington that coronavirus was likely to cause significant
disruption to businesses, even as Donald Trump was playing down the threat.
Dianne Feinstein, a Democratic member of the
same committee, and her husband also sold between $1.5 million and $6
million in stock in California biotech company between late January and
mid-February.
Elsewhere James Inhofe, Republican of
Oklahoma, sold stocks totaling $400,000 on January 27 including shares
in PayPal, Apple and Brookfield Asset Management, a real estate
company.
·
Loeffler's sell-off began the same day the
committee she sits on was briefed by the CDC, which she later tweeted about
·
Loeffler has defended herself, saying her
money is invested in a portfolio she has no control over. Feinstein also said
her stocks are held in a blind trust, which she does not control
ProPublica reported that on February 13 Burr sold of stock
holdings in 29 separate transactions. A week later the stock market
started its downward trend, now losing about a third of its value.
Burr dumped $150,000 worth of shares of
Wyndham Hotels and Resorts stock and $100,000 worth of shares of Extended Stay
America.
The hospitality industry has been one of the
worst shattered in this collapse.
Then, on February 27 Burr gave
well-heeled constituents from the Tar Heel State a dire warning about the kind
of chaos the coronavirus could cause.
The North
Carolina Republican is heard on a secret recording obtained by NPR telling members of the Tar Heel Circle
on February 27 that the coronavirus was 'much more aggressive in its
transmission than anything that we have seen in recent history.'
·
Burr talked to members of the Tar Heel
Circle, a group that charges $500 to $10,000 for membership, at the Capitol
Hill Club, a private social club for Republicans located steps away from the
Capitol Building
+10
·
At the Capitol Hill Club (pictured), Burr
spelled out the anticipated widespread disruptions that would be caused by the
coronavirus outbreak, statements he wasn't making publicly
'It is probably more akin to the 1918
pandemic,' Burr told the group, who pay between $500 and $10,000 for membership
of the group, according to NPR's reporting.
In a series of tweets, Burr pushed back and
said he was addressing the membership of the North Carolina State Society. 'The
message I shared with my constituents is the one public health officials urged
all of us to heed as coronavirus spread increased,' he also said.
A spokesman for Feinstein said that all of
her stock holdings are in a blind trust, and that she has no involvement in
financial decisions made by her husband.
The luncheon that was taped was held at the
Capitol Hill Club, a social club for Republicans located steps away from the
Capitol Building.
+10
·
Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez led the calls
for the resignations of both Koeffler and Burr shortly after the news broke on
Thursday
+10
·
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·
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