Imagine you’re sworn to look out for the well-being of America’s citizens, and the first thing you do when you see a pandemic coming is figure out how to profit off of it.
That’s exactly what FOUR Senators are accused of.
Remember back in February, before anyone was social distancing or self-quarantined, when you could still go the movies or the bar? You know, back when Fox News was non-stop trying to convince its viewers not to worry about the coronavirus, that it was just another flu season? And Donald Trump told his followers at a rally that all the pandemic talk was just a “hoax” cooked up by Democrats?
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Well, by that time members of the Senate Intelligence Committee had already gotten quite a few briefings on the devastating toll COVID-19 would have on our lives, our health system… and on our economy.
It was obviously this last point that interested some Senators the most. According to a bombshell report from ProPublica on Thursday, Richard Burr, the chairman of that committee, sold off around $1.7 MILLION in stocks on February 13.
Over the past month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has plummeted from 29,219 to 20,087 as of close of day Thursday — that’s down over 31%!
You don’t have to be a financial expert to see how the info Burr had gave him an edge — and saved him from a loss of about $6 million. (Oh, and lest you think that’s some kind of victimless act, don’t forget someone was on the other end of those sales — having no idea what they were buying was about to crash!)
Burr’s spokesperson told the outlet:
“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.”
Yes, weeks before the markets showed signs — that everyone could see. But he had the inside info! That’s the whole reason people are pissed!
At that time Burr wasn’t sounding the alarm to the American people about what was coming either — in fact, in early February he co-wrote a reassuring article on Fox News telling people not to worry because “the United States today is better prepared than ever before to face emerging public health threats, like the coronavirus.”
Was he really telling people not to worry while making MASSIVE money moves to help himself out personally??
It seems so. And the North Carolina Republican may not have been the only one to see a financial opportunity in the upcoming suffering.
After the initial article, The New York Times looked into the financial records of other members of the committee and found THREE other Senators — Dianne Feinstein (D-California), James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), and Kelly Loeffler (R-Georgia) — also sold off tons of stock around the same time.
Loeffler, who backed Trump’s February claims that the Democrats were blowing the coronavirus out of proportion, claimed ignorance, tweeting on Thursday night:
“I want to set the record straight: This is a ridiculous & baseless attack. I don’t make investment decisions for my portfolio. Investment decisions are made by multiple third-party advisors without my or my husband’s knowledge or involvement.”
Her husband is the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange btw.
Inhofe said in a statement the accusations he sold $400k of stock just 3 days after a briefing on January 24 are “completely baseless and 100 percent false.”
Senator Feinstein put the blame for the sales of somewhere between $1.5 and $6 million (!!!) on her husband, with a spokesman telling NBC News:
“Senator Feinstein did not sell any stock. The transactions you’re referencing were made by her spouse. All of Senator Feinstein’s assets are in a blind trust, as they have been since she came to the Senate. She has no involvement in any of her husband’s financial decisions.”
OK, sure. It’s all just a coincidence.
- They were warned about what the COVID-19 pandemic would do the country before the American people knew.
- They sold a bunch of stocks.
- The stock market started to crash because of the pandemic.
But it’s all just a coincidence.
Ugh. If this is true these a-holes are worse than the jerks buying up hand sanitizer to sell on Amazon.
What do YOU think should happen to these Senators??
https://giphy.com/gifs/justin-bieber-roast-of-martha-stewart-cKp6AWQN38RXi
[Image via Carrie Devorah/WENN/Instar/Fox News/YouTube.]
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