# NC Senator dumped stocks before the market crash **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 19, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846 "2020-03-19T22:19:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/41 "2020-03-21T03:46:01Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I think Richard Burr is as corrupt a Republican as any of the rest of them, but when Tucker Carlson starts eagerly calling for a fellow dirt bag’s head on a platter, I can’t help but drift into Ulterior Motive territory. > > Then I remembered that behind the scenes Burr, as the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has resisted opening another investigation into Hunter Biden, telling his fellow Republicans that to do so is to play right into Putin’s hands. > > Burr should be investigated, youbet. But perhaps calling for his resignation at this point may be premature. If you’re a realpolitik Democrat, that is. Maybe. But Carlson is an outlier on economic policy within the Fox universe - he’s a populist, he believes in economic regulation and he’s praised Elizabeth Warren’s economic policies. [https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/05/politics/tucker-carlson-elizabeth-warren-economic-patriotism/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/05/politics/tucker-carlson-elizabeth-warren-economic-patriotism/index.html) He’s still a nasty racist asshole, but he does manage to be right about of a couple of things. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/42 "2020-03-21T05:12:10Z")
We have a simple, traditional way to adjudge Sen Burr’s probity. Bind him and toss him in a pond. If innocent, he sinks. If guilty, he floats and can be pitchforked. Easy-peasy. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/43 "2020-03-21T11:51:36Z")
I bet NC GOP is probably already thinking of who they might pick if he decides to quit. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/44 "2020-03-21T23:22:48Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > A real sleazebag, but it shows that more broadly, government officials should not be able to buy and sell stocks outside of some kind of defined monthly contribution to an index fund. Even if you’re not as scummy as Burr, the temptation to act would be high if you knew you might be facing financial ruin. You would have to compensate government official a lot better to impose that sort of restriction on them. I know some people who have to file financial disclosures on a quarterly basis and they steadfastly avoid buying individual stocks particularly in industries that has dealing with their agency but how do you prevent them from selling their S&P 500 mutual fund and investing in bond funds when they see reports of how virulent COVID19 is? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/45 "2020-03-21T23:42:20Z")
You require blind trusts for elected officials? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/46 "2020-03-21T23:52:29Z")
I don’t think blind trusts are necessary, but there should be extremely robust laws banning this kind of insider-knowledge trading, with examples made of any public officials who violate it. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/47 "2020-03-22T00:18:20Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I don’t think blind trusts are necessary, but there should be extremely robust laws banning this kind of insider-knowledge trading, with examples made of any public officials who violate it. You mean like the STOCK Act? > [@](#): > > The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act (Pub.L. 112–105, S. 2038, 126 Stat. 291, enacted April 4, 2012) is an Act of Congress designed to combat insider trading. It was signed into law by President Barack Obama on April 4, 2012. The bill prohibits the use of non-public information for private profit, including insider trading by members of Congress and other government employees. It confirms changes to the Commodity Exchange Act, specifies reporting intervals for financial transactions. > > SOURCE: [STOCK Act - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STOCK_Act) The problem is not that we do not have laws that cover this. The problem is the people who need to prosecute such people won’t do it. I do not know if such a case would originate at the SEC or with William Barr’s office but neither is likely to even start looking at this. Hell, Barr is more likely to pat him on the back and give him an “attaboy.” ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/48 "2020-03-22T01:13:15Z")
If Barr were to pursue any prosecution it would probably be because he wasn’t cut in for a piece of the action. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/49 "2020-03-22T12:56:42Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > “Salivate”? Why does that ring a bell? Excellent! ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/50 "2020-03-22T22:58:10Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > If Barr were to pursue any prosecution it would probably be because he wasn’t cut in for a piece of the action. Maybe, or it could be because he’s too busy: > [@](#): > > The Department of Justice is using the coronavirus outbreak to ask Congress for sweeping emergency powers including suspending habeas corpus during an emergency, a power grab that was denounced by civil liberties advocates. > > … “You could be arrested and never brought before a judge until they decide that the emergency or the civil disobedience is over. I find it absolutely terrifying,” National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers executive director Norman L. Reimer told Swan. “Especially in a time of emergency, we should be very careful about granting new powers to the government.” > **['Oh Hell No': DOJ Using Coronavirus Crisis to Push for Expansive Emergency...](https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/03/21/oh-hell-no-doj-using-coronavirus-crisis-push-expansive-emergency-powers)** > > "This is abhorrent (also: predictable)." ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/51 "2020-03-23T00:26:21Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > You require blind trusts for elected officials? Loeffler’s husband is the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. Is it required of him to have a blind trust? She is claiming that their assists are in a trust and she wasn’t even informed of the sales until 3 weeks after it happened. Maybe it can be proven, I don’t know. The amount she sold is more than I could use in my lifetime but it’s a drop in the bucket compared to their net worth which is something like $750 million. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/52 "2020-03-24T20:57:45Z")
he got sued over the stock sale > **[Burr sued over controversial stock sales](https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/burr-sued-over-controversial-stock-sales/19026735/)** > > A shareholder in Wyndham Hotels is suing U.S. Sen. Richard Burr over the North Carolina Republican's decision to sell up to $150,000 of Wyndham stock ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/53 "2020-03-24T21:59:27Z")
That’s great news. I see the suit was brought by someone who owned shares in the stock that Burr sold off. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/54 "2020-03-30T18:48:09Z")
FBI and SEC looking into the sales [FBI, SEC looking into lawmakers' stock trades after coronavirus briefings: report - MarketWatch](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/fbi-sec-looking-into-lawmakers-stock-trades-after-coronavirus-briefings-report-2020-03-29) ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/55 "2020-03-30T19:19:00Z")
I see that North Carolina requires that an interim appointment to the Senate must be of the same party as the departed Senator. I wonder, if Burr departs, whether Democratic Governor Roy Cooper could just invoke the McConnell rule and decide that it is wrong to appoint a successor in an election year, and just leave Burr’s Republican seat vacant for the next few months. Or years. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/56 "2020-03-30T19:28:27Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I see that North Carolina requires that an interim appointment to the Senate must be of the same party as the departed Senator. > > I wonder, if Burr departs, whether Democratic Governor Roy Cooper could just invoke the McConnell rule and decide that it is wrong to appoint a successor in an election year, and just leave Burr’s Republican seat vacant for the next few months. Or years. True it would have to be a Republican to replace Burr, but only until the next statewide general election (ie November) and the person elected then only serves out the remainder of the leaving Senator’s term (in order to stay on schedule), which for Burr’s cohort would be 2022. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/57 "2020-03-31T00:10:37Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > And to show that it’s not only GOP senators who do this, Dianne Feinstein is also listed as selling off stock. > > The whole lot of them should resign. Her husband’s trust buys and sells a lot of stock, quite often. The trade talked about wasnt unusual, and he did not dump all his stocks liek several GOP members did. It was normal trading. Stocks are bought and sold every day, why should they be any different? What _is_ unusual is for someone to dump all their stock holding. There was nothing wrong nor unusual with the Feinstein trade, despite the GOP’s attempt to “whatabout” it . Anyone who knows anything about the market would not raise a eyebrow at that trade. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/58 "2020-03-31T21:45:19Z")
Couldn’t Cooper just appoint a very, very moderate Republican? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/59 "2020-03-31T22:37:47Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Couldn’t Cooper just appoint a very, very moderate Republican? I can re-register as a Republican if the country demands it. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846/60 "2020-03-31T22:38:59Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Couldn’t Cooper just appoint a very, very moderate Republican? Or even better, see if Roy Moore wants to move to NC for a few months. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-senator-dumped-stocks-before-the-market-crash/849846.md?page=4)