# Republicans purposely downplayed COVID-19 warnings so they could offload stock. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 19, 2020, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843 "2020-03-19T21:39:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Tabco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tabco/32/7644_2.png) [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/41 "2020-03-20T02:08:56Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Well. Let’s be fair. She also bought shares that day. In Citrix. A telecommuting company… Citrix is used (among other things, I imagine) to remotely access other computers. I only know this because I use it for school to gain access to a school lab computer (with its various software licenses) from my apartment off campus. I can guarantee there will be an uptick in usage, at least at my school. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/42 "2020-03-20T02:19:51Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > A joke so nice you said it thrice. Not sure why my stuff is getting multiple posts all day. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/43 "2020-03-20T02:22:19Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > LOL, who’s going to prosecute him? The Bill Barr “Justice” Department? Hell, he was probably right in line behind Burr. All they have to do – and I do mean ALL they have to do – is tickle Trump’s tonsils from the lower entrance up, and they are safe from any lawful prosecution. > > And people wonder if this crime syndicate **will have the audacity to try and stay in power no matter what the election results are…** [My bold] Or do whatever it takes to make sure the election comes out the way they want it to. Or both. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/44 "2020-03-20T02:42:18Z")
> **[A Congressman Skipped the Coronavirus Relief Vote. Instead, He Went Home to...](https://www.propublica.org/article/a-congressman-skipped-the-coronavirus-relief-vote-instead-he-went-home-to-tell-senior-citizens-to-blame-mass-media)** > > Rep. Don Young of Alaska isn’t the only politician to downplay the threat of coronavirus, in direct contrast with his state government’s public efforts. He may be the only one to do so at a gathering of senior citizens, though. Scum. Animals. Bacteria. Vermin. > [@](#): > > Alaska’s lone member of the U.S. House, Rep. Don Young, skipped a vote early Saturday on a federal coronavirus relief package. Turns out, he was in Alaska, where hours earlier he had told a gathering of senior citizens that dangers posed by the coronavirus pandemic — the “beer virus,” he called it — have been overblown because of media-fueled hysteria. While nurses and healthcare workers are literally risking their lives to treat people because, you know, it’s their fucking job, this bacterium spreads misinformation and puts his own community at risk. I will dehumanize these motherfuckers, and fuck anyone who tells me not to. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/45 "2020-03-20T02:43:40Z")
It’s not just time to disinfect our countertops; we have to disinfect society, too. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/46 "2020-03-20T02:49:34Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > And… another one. > > [Sen. Kelly Loeffler Dumped Millions in Stock After Coronavirus Briefing](https://www.thedailybeast.com/sen-kelly-loeffler-dumped-millions-in-stock-after-coronavirus-briefing) She is also married the the chairman of the NYSE. Imagine how many people got a heads up from them. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/47 "2020-03-20T02:59:28Z")
Looks like Jin Inhofe too… [link to Tweet](https://twitter.com/nycsouthpaw/status/1240811054776692736). Sold a bunch of stock on Monday 1/27 after attending the senators only coronavirus briefing on Friday 1/24. In early March Inhofe was asked by a reporter if he was taking any coronavirus precautions. He replied, “No, wanna shake hands.” ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/48 "2020-03-20T03:09:22Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > Looks like Jin Inhofe too… [link to Tweet](https://twitter.com/nycsouthpaw/status/1240811054776692736). > > Sold a bunch of stock on Monday 1/27 after attending the senators only coronavirus briefing on Friday 1/24. > > In early March Inhofe was asked by a reporter if he was taking any coronavirus precautions. He replied, “No, wanna shake hands.” And Inhofe voted against the virus economic assistance package! He can profit, but regular Americans can eat shit and die. Chutzpah. That’s the nicest way to put it. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/49 "2020-03-20T03:26:13Z")
[Tweet about Ron Johnson](https://twitter.com/jamiedupree/status/1240821255084924928) > [@](#): > > In a report filed today, Sen. Ron Johnson R-WI with a very large stock sale earlier this month. “Right now, all people are hearing about are the deaths. I’m sure the deaths are horrific, but the flip side of this is the vast majority of people who get coronavirus do survive.” - Ron Johnson weeks after selling millions of dollars of stock in his own company. ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/50 "2020-03-20T04:30:02Z")
Truly disgusting. Hanging’s too good for them. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/51 "2020-03-20T09:46:00Z")
To be fair Dianne Feinstein also on the intelligence committee is reported to have unloaded stocks, regardless I hope they all get nailed to the fucking wall for this! ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/52 "2020-03-20T09:49:14Z")
> [@pool](#): > > To be fair Dianne Feinstein also on the intelligence committee is reported to have unloaded stocks, regardless I hope they all get nailed to the fucking wall for this! Feinstein has been the “lesser evil” of California politics since before I was born. If this takes her down, a better Democrat will almost definitely take her place. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/53 "2020-03-20T10:38:28Z")
It’s more appalling this time because human lives are at stake. But let’s be honest guys, insider trading isn’t just a republican thing. #Nancy Pelosi and about 80% of congress-critters. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/54 "2020-03-20T12:29:47Z")
I’m now fully prepared to support funding Trump’s wall. I’ll even throw in blindfolds and some smokes to round out the purchase. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/55 "2020-03-20T12:40:35Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > I’m now fully prepared to support funding Trump’s wall. > I’ll even throw in blindfolds and some smokes to round out the purchase. 🙂 Better secure the ammo soon – I’ve heard that’s been flying off the shelves (no joke). ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/56 "2020-03-20T12:43:21Z")
**[Sen. Richard Burr, who sold stock before pandemic, voted in 2012 against banning insider trading for Congress](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/03/20/coronavirus-richard-burr-stock/)** > [@](#): > > Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) thought little of the 2012 bill that would ban insider trading for Congress, congressional staff and other federal officials. > > “It’s ludicrous,” Burr said in a February 2012 radio interview about the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (Stock) Act. > > The bill, aimed at prohibiting stock trading based on nonpublic information gleaned on Capitol Hill, overwhelmingly passed in the Senate by a 96-to-3 vote before being signed into law by President Barack Obama. Burr, one of the three senators to vote against the measure, described himself as a “brave soul” for going against the bill, according to a transcript of the radio interview posted to his Senate website. > > “I mean, it’s insane,” he said of the insider-trading legislation for members of Congress. > > His sentiments from eight years ago have become relevant again after Thursday’s report that Burr sold a significant share of his stocks last month before the coronavirus outbreak upended the markets. > … I guess that’s what’s called “walking the talk.” :mad: ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/57 "2020-03-20T13:19:12Z")
Another rat leaving the sinking ship: > [@](#): > > Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) reported the first sale of stock jointly owned by her and her husband on Jan. 24, the very day that her committee, the Senate Health Committee hosted a private, all-senators briefing. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/58 "2020-03-20T13:22:36Z")
The most obvious ones from the sources I follow are: (Links go to tweets with pictures of the filings as well as a link to the specific search if you want to do the research yourself.) Burr (NC), R Loeffler (GA), R Purdue (GA), R: [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240844595212234753?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240844595212234753?s=20) Inhofe (OK), R: [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240837541135253504?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240837541135253504?s=20) Boozman (AR), R: [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240821262118719489?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240821262118719489?s=20) Moran (KS), R: [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240818326181498885?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240818326181498885?s=20) Roberts (KS), R: [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240817390214152192?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240817390214152192?s=20) Feinstein (CA), D: [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240819456370237440?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240819456370237440?s=20) [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240819904082739200?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240819904082739200?s=20) [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240820415884406784?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240820415884406784?s=20) Carper (DE), D: [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240823357635022850?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240823357635022850?s=20) (Possible - these sales are marked automated) Blumenthal (CT), D: [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240822411337125888?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240822411337125888?s=20) Both Idaho Senators filed for an extension in submitting the same filings: [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240828974588198913?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240828974588198913?s=20) The criteria used was “any out of cycle financial report”. This source has not dug into the in-cycle financial reports - anyone with a link to such a source would be greatly appreciated. #InsiderTraitoring ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/59 "2020-03-20T13:23:29Z")
> [@pool](#): > > To be fair Dianne Feinstein also on the intelligence committee is reported to have unloaded stocks, regardless I hope they all get nailed to the fucking wall for this! About that attempt to tie her in with those Republicans: [Barrons reports that it was her husband that sold off biotech stock](https://www.barrons.com/articles/sen-dianne-feinsteins-husband-sold-a-biotech-stock-near-its-2020-low-51583064907). > [@](#): > > Sen. Dianne Feinstein disclosed that her husband, Richard C. Blum, sold a biotech stock in January, when it was trading near its 2020 intraday lows. > Blum, the founder and head of investment firm Blum Capital Partners, sold $500,001 to $1 million in Allogene Therapeutics stock (ticker: ALLO) on Jan. 31, according to a form the senator filed with the Secretary of the Senate. Specific values aren’t required for disclosure, only ranges. . Biotech stock is something one would want to _invest_ in if one thought a pandemic was possible, but > [@](#): > > The day that Blum sold Allogene stock, shares of the cancer researcher traded for as low as $21.28, just above the current 2020 intraday low of $21.25, which was set the next trading day, Feb. 1. Since then, however, Allogene stock has been rising, closing Friday at $27.00 for a year-to-date gain of 3.9%, while the S&P 500 index, a proxy for the broader market, has fallen 8.6%. Last year, Allogene stock slipped 3.5% while the S&P 500 rose 28.9%. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/60 "2020-03-20T13:24:16Z")
The most obvious ones from the sources I follow are: (Links go to tweets with pictures of the filings as well as a link to the specific search if you want to do the research yourself.) Burr (NC), R Loeffler (GA), R Purdue (GA), R: [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240844595212234753?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240844595212234753?s=20) Inhofe (OK), R: [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240837541135253504?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240837541135253504?s=20) Boozman (AR), R: [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240821262118719489?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240821262118719489?s=20) Moran (KS), R: [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240818326181498885?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240818326181498885?s=20) Roberts (KS), R: [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240817390214152192?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240817390214152192?s=20) Feinstein (CA), D: [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240819456370237440?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240819456370237440?s=20) [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240819904082739200?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240819904082739200?s=20) [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240820415884406784?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240820415884406784?s=20) Carper (DE), D: [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240823357635022850?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240823357635022850?s=20) (Possible - these sales are marked automated) Blumenthal (CT), D: [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240822411337125888?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240822411337125888?s=20) Both Idaho Senators filed for an extension in submitting the same filings: [https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240828974588198913?s=20](https://twitter.com/File411/status/1240828974588198913?s=20) The criteria used was “any out of cycle financial report”. This source has not dug into the in-cycle financial reports - anyone with a link to such a source would be greatly appreciated. #InsiderTraitoring [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843.md?page=4)