FBI Raids Senator Burr’s Home In Probe, May Target Dianne Feinstein Next
Bill Barr and the DOJ just made their move and raided GOP Senator Richard Burr’s home last night and seized his cell phone and it was reported the FBI already gained access to Burr’s iCloud account. The information on account led to the seizure of the phone so he is in big trouble. And Barr is not Holder or Lynch – he goes by the book and is cleaning up the politicization of the DOJ under Obama.
Barr and Trump had to sign off on this so there will be no help from above for Burr. Nor should there be if he broke the law.
That said three other Senators were also accused of doing similar insider trading and the next one most likely to get a visit from the FBI is Dianne Feinstein.
The other Senators, Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. And Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga. appear to have independent money managers who executed the trades without their knowledge so they should be in the clear, but it looks like Dianne’s husband made her trades and that could leave them both exposed.
From USA Today:
The FBI served a warrant to GOP Sen. Richard Burr as part of its investigation into his sale of stocks ahead of the market crash due to the coronavirus, according to reports.
The Los Angeles Times first reported that Burr, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, had his cell phone seized on Wednesday night by federal agents at his Washington residence, citing an anonymous law enforcement official. NBC also reported that the senator was served an FBI warrant and that his phone was seized.
Burr’s office declined to comment on the matter when reached by USA TODAY Wednesday night.
The Justice Department launched an inquiry into four senators’ stock sales in March, a person familiar told USA TODAY at the time.
Sens. Burr, R-N.C.; Jim Inhofe, R-Okla.; Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga.; and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; their spouses or advisers sold stocks around the time lawmakers received briefings about the severity of the coronavirus, financial disclosure forms showed.
At the time news reporting revealed the stock movements, the senators declined any wrongdoing. Burr called for an Ethics Committee review into his conduct as lawmakers from both sides of the aisle called on him to resign his seat.
“The law is clear that any American – including a senator – may participate in the stock market based on public information, as Sen. Burr did,” Burr’s attorney, Alice Fisher, said at the end of March. “When this issue arose, Sen. Burr immediately asked the Senate Ethics Committee to conduct a complete review, and he will cooperate with that review as well as any other appropriate inquiry. Sen. Burr welcomes a thorough review of the facts in this matter, which will establish that his actions were appropriate.”
The FBI served a warrant to GOP Sen. Richard Burr as part of its investigation into his sale of stocks ahead of the market crash due to the coronavirus, according to reports.https://t.co/f8to1d8qFd
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) May 14, 2020
