The Justice Department has launched an investigation into Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), who dumped millions of dollars in stock just before the coronavirus crisis hit.
The Wall Street Journal reported, “The Justice Department is examining whether lawmakers traded ahead of the market turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic based on confidential briefings they received, according to a person familiar with the matter. As part of that inquiry, the FBI has reached out to Sen. Richard Burr (R., N.C.), said the person.”
Burr, due to his position as Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, received two confidential briefings in January in February. After being briefed, Burr warned a group of his political donors to prepare for the coronavirus and he sold $1.7 million in stock.
Calls for Burr to resign have come from both Republicans and Democrats. Given that Donald Trump called for Burr to resign, it is not surprising that his Justice Department took the President’s tweet as a green light to investigate the Senator.
If any other ordinary person in America did what Burr did, they would be looking at criminal charges and a prison sentence. Since Sen. Burr isn’t running for reelection, he appears to be trying to ride out the scandal in the hope that it blows over.
An FBI investigation is a signal that this story is not going away anytime soon.
The heat is intensifying on Burr and it may only be a matter of time until he resigns and awaits criminal prosecution.
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Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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