North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr to step down as intelligence committee chairman
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
May 14 (UPI) -- North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr said Thursday he will step down as chairman of the Senate intelligence committee after reports that he's being investigated for a mass selloff in stock at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell announced the move.
"Sen. Burr contacted me this morning to inform me of his decision to step aside as chairman of the intelligence committee during the pendency of the investigation," he said in a statement. "We agreed that this decision would be in the best interests of the committee."
McConnell said Burr will resign as committee chair at the end of Friday's Senate session.
Earlier Thursday, the Los Angeles Times, NBC News and CBS News reported that FBI agents seized Burr's cellphone this week as part of an investigation into his stock selloff in the middle of February.
Burr sold shares in dozens of different transactions around the same time the intelligence committee was receiving daily coronavirus briefings. The sales occurred about a week before the U.S. stock market began to see heavy losses related to the pandemic.
The Justice Department is trying to determine whether Burr violated any possible insider trading laws with his decision to sell stock.
Burr has previously said he won't run for re-election in 2022.
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The headline should have read
"In Lieu Of A Direct Confession To Insider Trading, Burr Has Stepped Down as Intelligence Committee Chairman"
The FBI searched his house last night and this morning he steps down from his duties.
Bingo.
In addition to Burr I'll bet there are a few more of our illustrious politicians that will be investigated.
As there should be............both sides of the aisle.
They did look at Feinstein. According to her statements she put all her assets into a blind trust.
Then the woman in Georgia, who won't comment yet her husband runs the stock exchange.
I say go after all of them. They knew.
Dianne Feinstein is 86 and her husband is 84. They've made enough money and now its time for them to take their foot off the gas.
She should announce she is not running again and think about resigning right now.
I think that would be a wise move on her part
Senator Burr shouldn't wait 2 more years, just resign his senate seat right now
I’ll be interested to see the results of investigations. It’s not as if the virus were a secret. This may have just been the result of prudent planning.