Federal law enforcement officials are reportedly investigating a series of stock market transactions that were made by U.S. lawmakers prior to the stock market tanking as a result of the coronavirus rapidly spreading throughout the U.S.
“The inquiry, which is still in its early stages and being done in coordination with the Securities and Exchange Commission, has so far included outreach from the FBI to at least one lawmaker, Sen. Richard Burr, seeking information about the trades, according to one of the sources,” CNN reported. “Public scrutiny of the lawmakers’ market activity has centered on whether members of Congress sought to profit from the information they obtained in non-public briefings about the virus epidemic.”
CNN added that there is “no indication that any of the sales, including Burr’s, broke any laws or ran afoul of Senate rules.”
Other senators who have come under scrutiny include Sens. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Jim Inhofe (R-OK).
“Congress passed the Stock Act in 2012, which made it illegal for lawmakers to use inside information for financial benefit,” CNN added. “Under insider trading laws, prosecutors would need to prove the lawmakers traded based on material non-public information they received in violation of a duty to keep it confidential.” – READ MORE
