Senators Sell Stocks Before Panic
Al Grabo for the New York Times
We ran the numbers: There are 1527 news articles covering this topic. 64% (976) are left leaning, 25% (387) center, 11% (164) right leaning.
Senators Richard M. Burr, Republican of North Carolina, and Kelly Loeffler, Republican of Georgia, have come under fire for selling off stocks collectively worth millions of dollars ahead of the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. While left-leaning articles highlight Burr and Loeffler’s neglect to take responsibility for their actions, right-leaning articles focus on Burr’s response to the situation.
A left-leaning article by The New York Times highlights that according to the 2012 STOCK act, senators are prohibited from using nonpublic information to turn a private profit. However, Burr and Loeffler have claimed no wrongdoing, pointing to their third-party advisers in making investment decisions for their portfolio.
NPR published a centrist article reporting that three weeks ago, Richard Burr attended a luncheon held at a social club called Capitol Hill Club and delivered a message warning the group about the aggressive transmission of the coronavirus. However, in his public comments about the threat of COVID-19, Burr never offered the same kind of precise warning that he delivered to the small group of his constituents.
A right-leaning article by The Daily Caller highlights that between January 24 and February 14, Loeffler sold roughly $3.1 million in stocks she jointly held with her husband. The article also reports that Burr addressed NPR’s story about his private warnings about the dangers of coronavirus to private groups in the Capitol. In a tweet, Burr argued that every state has a state society, which are not “secretive” or “high-dollar donor organizations.”
From the right
Senators Loeffler and Burr caught dumping their stocks after private meeting on coronavirus impact
Daily Caller