Richard Burr just got ripped to pieces
Last night we all learned multiple Republican Senators were dumping their personal stock market holdings last month after they were briefed that the coronavirus crisis would be far worse than was publicly known. Republican Senator Richard Burr took things to an even more egregious level by publicly insisting that things would be fine, even while privately admitting to his wealthiest constituents that it was going to be ugly.
This puts Burr and the other Republican Senators in direct violation of the STOCK Act of 2012, which specifically made it illegal for members of Congress to trade stocks based on any secret information they received as part of their jobs. That legislation was co-created by Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who appeared on the Ari Melber show on MSNBC this evening and ripped Burr to shreds.
It’s not yet clear if Mitch McConnell will allow a Senate investigation into these transgressions. But if the Democrats win the Senate majority in November, Gillibrand’s words today leave little doubt that the Senate will launch a full investigation. Moreover, if Joe Biden becomes President, there’s no doubt his Attorney General will take this up as a criminal matter.
We’ve seen the widespread false claim today that the STOCK Act was repealed in 2013. However, this is not the case. An amendment in 2013 did relax the reporting requirements for members of Congress, essentially making it easier for them not to get caught insider trading. But if you get caught, it’s still illegal – and these Republican Senators got caught.
