WASHINGTON (WBAP/KLIF) – Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, (R-NC), sold as much as $1.7 million in stocks just before the market dropped in February amid fears about the coronavirus epidemic.
According to Senate records Burr and his wife made over 30 separate transactions in late January and mid-February, just before the market began to fall.
Two other Republicans, Senator Kelly Loeffler, of Illinois, Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma and Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstien also unloaded millions of stock during the same time period, according to reports.
Loeffler blasted the reports as “baseless:
“This is a ridiculous and baseless attack. I do not make investment decisions for my portfolio. Investment decisions are made by multiple third-party advisors without my or my husband’s knowledge or involvement.”
The revelation comes amid an exclusive NPR report that Senator Burr revealed dire information about the virus to some well-heeled donors in late February.
“There’s one thing that I can tell you about this. It is more aggressive in its transmission than anything that we have seen in history. I can liken to the 1918 pandemic.”
The audio was reportedly sent to an NPR reporter by someone who was at the event. In 1918, the Swine Flu killed least 50 million worldwide with about 675,000 occurring in the United States.
Burr made the comments on February 27th to a gathering of the Capitol Hill Club, a group of wealthy donors and constituents, while publicly assuring the general public about preparedness.
For her part, Loeffler, (pictured upper right) called the claim “baseless:” @SenatorLoeffler:
Tom Mentzer reportedly told the NYT, “All of Senator Feinstein’s assets are in a blind trust. She has no involvement in her husband’s financial decisions.”
The stock market started to fall a week after Burr’s sales and has lost about 30% since, according to ProPublic.
The event with donors happened on February 27th:
Thu Feb. 27 Dow plunges 1,100 points, bringing its decline from a record high to more than 10% (CNBC)
Wed Feb. 26 Stocks close lower for fourth straight day (Yahoo Finance)
Tue Feb. 25 Stocks plunge for a second day as the Dow lost more than 800 points (CNBC)
Mon Feb. 24 Dow plunges 1,000 points, posting its worst day in two years (CNBC)
SAT/SUN Feb. 22/23 (Weekend)
Fri Feb 21 Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 228 points (Value Line)
Thu Feb. 20 Dow falls over 100 points after suffering a sudden midday sell-off/confusing traders (CNBC)
Wed Feb. 19 S&P 500 and Nasdaq jump to record highs, Dow climbs more than 100 points (CNBC)
Tue Feb. 18 Dow falls for a third day, dropping 165 points after Apple’s coronavirus warning (CNBC)
Mon Feb. 17 (Closed, President’s Day)
SAT/SUN Feb. 15/16
Fri Feb. 14 Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 25.23 points (CNBC)
Thu Feb. 13 Dow slips from record high as reported coronavirus cases jump (CNBC)
The news sparked the Twitter #RichardBurrResign.
(Copyright 2020 WBAP/KLIF 24/7 News)
