Explain or Resign: Senator Burr Faces Scrutiny After Selling Millions in Stock
Two senators are now facing an immense backlash as recent reports claim they sold millions in stock after learning how devastating the coronavirus could be to the U.S. economy.
Senator Richard Burr and Kelly Loeffler, members of the Senate Health Committee, are now under public scrutiny after the news broke.
Burr allegedly sold off a significant amount of his stocks estimated to be between $600,000 to $1.7 million on February 13 before the COVID-19 sent the market into freefall. The stock market began to decline roughly a week after Burr's sales.
Disclosure records showed he sold his stocks in 33 different transactions after the North Carolina Republican penned an opinion article suggesting the United States was prepared to confront the global pandemic.
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Senator Burr has access to classified information which covers potential threats to America's security. It was reported his committee was receiving daily coronavirus updates.
He is now being questioned why he did not warn the public or address the virus concerns publicly.
He also came under fire after a media outlet obtained a recording of a secret conversation where the intelligence chairman warned "a small group of well-connected constituents" about the potential impact COVID-19 would have on the economy. He was heard comparing the coronavirus outbreak to the 1918 pandemic caused by an H1N1 virus.
The event in the voice recording reportedly took place during a luncheon at the Capitol Hill Club.
The luncheon was organized by a nonpartisan group whose members consisted of businesses and organizations in North Carolina.
Membership to the group allegedly costs $500 to $10,000. The group also promised members a chance to interact with top leaders and staff from the administration and private sectors.
Burr also warned the members present during the luncheon about school closures and potential travel bans, urging them to reconsider their trips and their necessity.
The recording further revealed the senator invoking the possibility of mobilizing military forces to combat the virus, a notion the public learned of three weeks after.
"We're going to send a military hospital there," he said. "And we're going to have medical professionals supplemented by local staff to treat the people that need treatment."
Senator Richard Burr vehemently denied the tabloid's claims in a lengthy 8-part Twitter post.
In a tabloid-style hit piece today, NPR knowingly and irresponsibly misrepresented a speech I gave last month about the coronavirus threat. Let me set the record straight. 1/ — Richard Burr (@SenatorBurr) March 19, 2020
He also dismissed allegations that he and other Republicans did not take the virus outbreak seriously at the time in question.
Another media outlet reported Loeffler sold stocks she and husband owned the same day she sat in a closed-door briefing about COVID-19.
According to reports, the Senate Health Committee member sold over $50,000 to $100,000 in 29 transactions. Another report claims the couple sold stock worth $3,100,000 before the outbreak grew.
Loeffler also took to Twitter to blast the claim, calling it a "baseless attack."
Tucker Carlson, a well-known political commentator on Fox News urged the senators to explain the stock sell-off or voluntarily resign from their position.
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