Politics

DOJ Ends Investigation Into Richard Burr’s Stock Trades, Will Not Pursue Charges

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Michael Ginsberg Congressional Correspondent
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North Carolina Republican Sen. Richard Burr will not be charged with insider trading, the Department of Justice told him Wednesday, according to the New York Times (NYT).

The announcement, first reported in the NYT, ended a months-long investigation into whether or not Burr illegally used information gleaned from congressional briefings about the coronavirus to inform stock sales.

The FBI seized Burr’s cell phone in May pursuant to a search warrant. Burr reportedly sold between $625,000 and $1.72 million in stocks shortly after he received a briefing about the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Burr also resigned his chairmanship of the Senate Intelligence Committee over the scandal. (RELATED: Tucker Carlson: Sen. Burr Needs To Resign, Be Charged If He Can’t Explain $1.7 Million Stock Dump)

“My focus has been and will continue to be working for the people of North Carolina during this difficult time for our nation,” Burr said in a statement.

The FBI and SEC investigated five senators for possible insider trading, including Burr, Republican Georgia Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, Republican Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe and Democratic California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, according to NYT. The probes into Loeffler, Perdue, Inhofe and Feinstein were previosuly closed without charges.

Congressional investments are regulated by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act. The STOCK Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2012 after it passed the Senate 96-3 and the House of Representatives 417-2. It prohibits Congressmembers and their staffers from using private briefing information when making stock market trades.