Tucker Carlson calls on Sen. Burr to explain reported $1.6 million stock sale or resign
A new report claims that the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee sold more a million dollars in stocks in mid-February after learning how devastating the coronavirus could be. 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' will have more on the story on Friday.
Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., has become the second lawmaker to have reportedly sold stock weeks before the coronavirus outbreak triggered a stock market downfall.
The Daily Beast reported Thursday that Loeffler sold stock that was owned by her and her husband on Jan. 24, the same day she sat in on a closed-door coronavirus briefing as a member of the Senate Health Committee with the Trump administration, with Dr. Anthonly Fauci in attendance.
According to the report, she sold stock in Resideo Technologies "worth between $50,001 and $100,000." The company's stock price "has fallen by more than half" since January.
In addition, 27 out of 29 transactions in February by her and her husband were sales. One stock purchase was in a company called Citrix, a teleworking software company, and was worth between $100,000 and $250,000. The company's stock, as The Daily Beast noted, had seen a bump since the virus outbreak grew.
The report also claims Loeffler and her husband sold jointly-owned stock worth between $1,275,000 and $3,100,000 during the Jan. 24-Feb. 14 timespan, according to filed transactions.
Her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, is chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.
Loeffler slammed the "ridiculous and baseless attack" in a pair of late-night tweets.
"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," Loeffler wrote. "As confirmed in the periodic transaction report to Senate Ethics, I was informed of these purchases and sales on February 16, 2020 — three weeks after they were made."
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Loeffler isn't the only GOP senator who sold stock before the market tanked this month. According to ProPublica, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., "sold off a significant percentage of his stocks, unloading between $582,029 and $1.56 million of his holdings on Feb. 13" in 29 separate transactions in filings listed in the U.S. Senate Financial Disclosures website as he was regularly being briefed on the rising threat of the virus.
A spokesperson for Burr told Fox News, "Senator Burr filed a financial disclosure form for personal transactions made several weeks before the U.S. and financial markets showed signs of volatility due to the growing coronavirus outbreak. As the situation continues to evolve daily, he has been deeply concerned by the steep and sudden toll this pandemic is taking on our economy. He supported Congress’ immediate efforts to provide $7.8 billion for response efforts and this week’s bipartisan bill to provide relief for American business and small families.”
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