Politics - News Analysis

GOP Senator Sold Retail Stocks and Then Bought Stocks in Medical Supply Companies After Virus Briefing

Well, get a load of this crap. I don’t think you get much more crooked and corrupt than this, and that’s saying something in Trump’s GOP.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

The largest transactions — and the most politically problematic — involve $18.7 million in sales of Intercontinental Exchange stock in three separate deals dated Feb. 26 and March 11. Senator Kelly Loeffler is a former executive with ICE, and her husband, Jeff Sprecher, is the CEO of the company, which owns the New York Stock Exchange among other financial marketplaces.

Oh there’s more:

During the same time period reflected on reports filed late Tuesday, the couple also sold shares in retail stores such as Lululemon and T.J. Maxx and invested in a company that makes COVID-19 protective garments. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution got the first look at these reports, covering mid-February through mid-March and shedding new light on Loeffler’s financial transactions during the pandemic. Previous reports — which have put Loeffler in the national spotlight — covered her trading during the first six weeks of 2020.

This woman is filthy rich. Her husband is filthy rich. She’s a U.S. senator. He runs the damn NYSE. Amazing. They could afford to take the loss and remain ethical.

The newer stock sales came as the broader markets were diving, and they are likely to fuel allegations that Georgia’s new senator used her insider knowledge about the severity of the pandemic to dump holdings while simultaneously releasing statements about the strength of the American economy and complimenting President Donald Trump on his response. The STOCK Act, a law that went into effect in 2012, makes it illegal for senators to use inside information for financial gain.

Ya think?

Their defense here seems to be that these are rich people whose finances are too complicated for us stupid poor people to understand. For example, they maintain that an investment firm handles the transactions and that all that the couple does is set a general investment strategy. Left unanswered is the question of why a sitting senator—and her husband—would court trouble by engaging in individual stock transactions at all. Silly question. Because the laws and ethics are for us, not them.

Stock trading by lawmakers has come under scrutiny in recent weeks after financial disclosures showed that a handful of senators sold off shares following a private Senate briefing on the coronavirus outbreak on Jan. 24.

Sen. Richard Burr from North Carolina has come under particular scrutiny in the matter. He sold off a significant portion of his portfolio after the Jan. 24 briefing, stoking speculation that he relied on insider knowledge to guide his trades.

Burr has denied any wrongdoing, saying that he relied on publicly available news reports to make his financial decisions. He also called for a Senate Ethics Committee to look into the stock sales.

Stock trades by lawmakers have also caught the attention of the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. CNN reported on Monday that the two agencies had launched a coordinated probe into the matter and have already contacted Burr as part of the investigation.

A spokesperson for Loeffler’s campaign said that the senator has always acted in accordance with the law, and dismissed criticism of her stock trades as a smear against her.

“These false attacks against Senator Loeffler — from the Left, from fake news media, from career politicians — are exactly why people are fed up with Washington,” the spokesperson, Stephen Lawson, said in a statement.

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