Mr. Burr was one of five senators known by the Department of Justice and the Security and Exchange Commission to investigate possible insider trading surrounding the onset of the pandemic in the United States. Senators Kelly Loeffler, Republican of Georgia; James Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma; and California Democrat Dianne Feinstein were all cleared in May. An investigation into Georgia’s Republican Sen. David Perdue has expanded to more than $ 1 million worth of deals in a financial firm, where he once sat on the board, before closing in August.
Mr. Burr remained open for months.
Although he did not dispute that he was selling a large part of his portfolio out of concern for the spreading pandemic, he insisted that his operations were based entirely on information reported by financial news outlets in Asia, and not on special briefings he received as a senator.
Insider trading cases – especially cases involving legislators – are difficult to prove. Legislators, like any other citizen, may make investment decisions based on public information. Under the 2012 Equity Act, it is prohibited to make decisions based on specific, non-public information they use as senators.
The challenge for investigators is to bother public information with enough confidence to prove that a legislator like Mr. Burr acted with an unfair advantage over other investors. This is made even more difficult by the speech or debate clause of the Constitution, which offers members of Congress unusual protection against investigators.
In this case, the sales of Mr. Burr a few days after a series of briefings he received in late January and early February as a member of the Senate Intelligence and Health Committees focused on the coronavirus threat. At the time, Mr. Trump and members of his party downplayed the virus threat, and although it has spread widely in Asia, the pandemic has not yet had a strong impact on American life or its financial markets.
Mr Burr, who has long trained his eye on public health and warned about the threat of pandemics, has clearly taken it more seriously. On February 13, it sold 33 shares, valued at a combined value of $ 628,000 to $ 1.7 million, a large portion of its portfolio.
With the timing, he was able to avoid losses that other investors suffered when the stock market shrank sharply in February and March. The financial markets have since recovered and are reaching record highs.
There were also other costs for Mr. Burr. He stood on the sidelines, for example, when the intelligence committee delivered the final results this summer of its years-long investigation into Russian election interference in 2016 and its ties to the Trump campaign. He has overseen the politically sensitive inquiry from the outset, working closely with the top Democratic panel, Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, amid sharp objections from President Trump and the respect of colleagues in both parties.