Republican Indiana Rep. Jim Banks said Friday that reports of GOP senators dumping stocks ahead of the coronavirus market crash are “infuriating.”
GOP Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina and Kelly Loeffler of Georgia both sold off stocks before the pandemic crashed the market, and after senators in both parties had received private briefings on the virus.
Loeffler said she doesn’t control her stock portfolio and didn’t find out about the sell-off until two weeks after the fact. Burr said his decision to sell was based off of public information.
Banks said Friday that the senators dumping stock before the market crashed is likely to harm public trust in Congress. (RELATED: Media Rhetoric On ‘Wuhan Virus’ Echoes Chinese Propaganda)
“I’ve spent the past week learning of the serious sacrifices my constituents in northeast Indiana have had to make because of this disaster. It’s infuriating to think that any colleague of mine might have benefited while so many are suffering—and understandably—it makes it harder for Hoosiers to trust Congress,” Banks said in a statement released to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“If there’s credible evidence that any elected official used insider information for their own financial gain, then they need to be investigated by the ethics committee, immediately,” Banks added.
GOP Indiana Rep. Jim Banks (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for WS Productions)
Republican Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, who is challenging Loeffler in this year’s Senate primary, was even more critical of Loeffler.
“People are losing their jobs, their businesses, their retirements, and even their lives and Kelly Loeffler is profiting off their pain? I’m sickened just thinking about it,” Collins wrote on Twitter.
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