Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Richard Burr claimed in a Friday morning statement that he “relied solely on public news reports” when he decided to sell off up to $1.5 million in stocks in early February, just a week before the U.S. financial markets tanked amid the coronavirus crisis. “Specifically, I closely followed CNBC’s daily health and science reporting out of its Asia bureaus at the time,” the North Carolina Republican wrote. “Understanding the assumption many could make in hindsight however, I spoke this morning with the chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee and asked him to open a complete review of the matter with full transparency.” A Daily Beast report revealed that Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) also sold off seven figures’ worth of stocks following a private briefing with senators on the virus.
