# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/81 "2020-03-20T21:00:37Z")
I’ll wait for more info to come out, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/82 "2020-03-20T21:07:11Z")
That’s right, we should have a scrupulously fair trial before we hang them. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/83 "2020-03-20T21:26:49Z")
> [@TheCuse](#): > > Can you prove insider trading? I can’t but it’s okay since I’m not a federal prosecutor. I’m sure they won’t find it difficult. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/84 "2020-03-20T21:29:22Z")
I’m not one either. ---
**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, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/85 "2020-03-20T22:42:07Z")
New York Times editorial: [ **Profiting from a Pandemic?** _At least two senators engaged in suspiciously timed stock sales. All stock trades by members of Congress should be barred._](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/opinion/coronavirus-burr-loeffler-stocks.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=Editorials) > [@](#): > > …Richard Burr, Republican of North Carolina, and Kelly Loeffler, Republican of Georgia, are in the hot seat this week, facing questions about whether they misused their positions to shield their personal finances from the economic fallout of the pandemic, even as they misled the public about the severity of the crisis. According to analyses of their disclosure reports filed with the Senate, the lawmakers each unloaded major stock holdings during the same period they were receiving closed-door briefings about the looming pandemic. > > These briefings were occurring when much of the public still had a poor grasp of the virus, in part because President Trump and many Republican officials were still publicly playing down the threat. Instead of raising their voices to prepare Americans for what was to come, Mr. Burr and Ms. Loeffler prioritized their stock portfolios, in a rank betrayal of the public trust — and possibly in violation of the law. > > It is unclear precisely what information about the pandemic either Mr. Burr or Ms. Loeffler received in the briefings before their stock sales. But any use of nonpublic information in guiding such dealings would have been not only unethical but almost certainly illegal. Lawmakers and their aides are explicitly barred from using nonpublic information for trades by the STOCK Act of 2012 (the acronym stands for Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge). Mr. Burr of all people should know this, since he was one of only three senators to vote against the bill. > > As chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Mr. Burr is privy to classified information about threats to America’s security. In February, his committee was receiving regular briefings about the coronavirus. He is also a member of the Health Committee, which, on Jan. 24, co-sponsored a private coronavirus briefing by top administration officials for all senators. > > On Feb. 13, Mr. Burr began a series of stock sales, according to an investigation by ProPublica, which found that, in 33 separate transactions, he unloaded “between $628,000 and $1.72 million of his holdings,” including significant investments in three hotel chains. Unlike his previous disclosure reports, which showed a mix of selling and buying, these transactions were all sales. > … New York Times opinion piece: [ **They. Sold. Their. Stock.** _They could have made a difference, but they made a profit._](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/opinion/burr-loeffler-stocks-coronavirus.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=Opinion) > [@](#): > > On Jan. 24, Richard Burr, a Republican senator from North Carolina, attended a private Senate briefing from senior government scientists about the seriousness of the coronavirus. Kelly Loeffler, a Republican senator from Georgia, received the same briefing. > > At the time, many Americans did not yet understand the danger that the virus posed. The same day as the briefing, President Trump — in one of his many attempts over the past two months to make the virus seem like a frivolous matter — tweeted, “It will all work out well.” > > Given the disconnect between what they knew and the public’s understanding, Burr and Loeffler had an opportunity to sound the alarm. They could have broken ranks with other congressional Republicans and told the country to take the situation more seriously. They could have criticized Trump for not doing more. Such criticism, coming from Trump’s own party, would have received major attention. It would have had the potential to alter Trump administration policy and, by extension, the course the disease took. > > But Burr and Loeffler did virtually nothing to protect the health and safety of their constituents or of Americans in other states. (Burr went so far as to co-write an article for [FoxNews.com](http://FoxNews.com) bragging about the country’s readiness.) Here’s what the two senators did instead: They sold large amounts of their personal stock holdings, cashing in before the market sharply declined, as the severity of the virus became apparent to everyone. > > The Daily Beast broke the story of Loeffler’s trades, which added up to between $1.2 million and $3.1 million. She started selling the shares the same day as the briefing. She also bought “between $100,000 and $250,000 in Citrix, a technology company that offers teleworking software” and whose share price has risen since the crisis began, The Daily Beast’s Lachlan Markay, William Bredderman and Sam Brodey write. > … > > ``` > [Tucker Carlson](https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1240806440379371521), Fox News: > > [ul] > > ``` > > [li][Burr] had inside information about what could happen to our country, which is now happening, but he didn’t warn the public. He didn’t give a prime-time address. He didn’t go on television to sound the alarm. He didn’t even disavow an op-ed he’d written just 10 days before claiming America was ‘better prepared than ever’ for coronavirus. He didn’t do any of those things. Instead, what did he do? He dumped his shares in hotel stocks so he wouldn’t lose money, and then he stayed silent. Now maybe there’s an honest explanation for what he did. If there is, he should share it with the rest of us immediately. Otherwise, he must resign from the Senate[/li][/ul] …. As sentient adults, we are permitted, even encouraged, to seek information from trusted sources and make up our own minds. Or we can just keep saying over and over, “Ya can’t prove it! Nya-nya-nya!” and wait for someone else to tell us what to believe. Anyway, this isn’t a courtroom. No one is going to the gas chamber. Opinions are okay to have and to express. A certain segment of the population doesn’t trust the New York Times, but I do. Note that even the Fox News guy is pissed off at this. ---
**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, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/86 "2020-03-20T22:59:08Z")
> [@pool](#): > > So you think it’s just coincidence that the guy she’s fucking knew when to sell stocks, God you’re cute, isn’t that the same excuse that Loeffler is making, that it was her husband or something. It’s not a partisan thing they’re all crooked, and I hope they all go down, and go down hard. You are one crude and _stupid_ little shit, aint’cha? The man sold off biotech stock when it was low, right before a pandemic, and it started rising right after that. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/87 "2020-03-20T22:59:52Z")
Can we stop calling them the GOP? There’s been so much change, it really doesn’t fit the party anymore. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/88 "2020-03-20T23:06:21Z")
KInda fits that Bush,\* fils\* should be the last true GOP pres. ---
**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 21, 2020, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/89 "2020-03-21T00:24:55Z")
Plenty of people have questions about Burr’s acts, not just a few Dopers. **Sen. Burr asks ethics panel for review of his stock sales** > **[Sen. Burr asks Senate Ethics Committee for review of his stock sales amid...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sen-richard-burr-r-nc-says-he-has-asked-senate-ethics-committee-for-review-of-his-stock-sales/2020/03/20/43861396-6ab8-11ea-b313-df458622c2cc_story.html)** > > The Intelligence Committee chairman’s sales included industries hardest hit by the pandemic. ---
**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 21, 2020, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/90 "2020-03-21T01:39:44Z")
> [@pool](#): > > So you think it’s just coincidence that the guy she’s fucking knew when to sell stocks, God you’re cute, isn’t that the same excuse that Loeffler is making, that it was her husband or something. It’s not a partisan thing they’re all crooked, and I hope they all go down, and go down hard. You’re a fucking idiot, but you’re right about one thing. I am pretty cute. ---
**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 21, 2020, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/91 "2020-03-21T03:07:24Z")
> [@](#): > > Since January 28, Feinstein’s investment banker husband, Richard Blum, has twice sold stock in San Francisco-based Allogene Therapeutics, according to disclosure forms. The couple’s sales in the company total between $1.5 million and $6 million. On February 18, the day Blum and Feinstein sold between $1 million and $5 million in stock in the company, its share price closed at $23.20; it currently sits at $20.58 after hitting a low of $18.26 earlier this week, according to Yahoo. The stock is currently $19.25, the stock is down, it’s really irrelevant anyway you have to look at the long trend not day-to-day ups and downs. And also it’s not unlikely someone would pull their money from the stock market to invest in something else if they knew hard times were coming. As far as what I’ve read right now the only one I’m comfortable saying is guilty as hell at this point is Burr but I think they should all be looked into and investigated. I think there are crooked types on both sides of the political divide and it’s naive to pretend it’s only the GOP. Regardless Feinstein is a crooked piece of scum who works vicariously through her husband from wiki: Blum’s wife, Senator Dianne Feinstein, has received scrutiny due to her husband’s government contracts and extensive business dealings with China and her past votes on trade issues with the country. Blum has denied any wrongdoing.[13] URS Corp, which Blum had a substantial stake in, bought EG&G, a leading provider of technical services and management to the U.S. military, from The Carlyle Group in 2002; EG&G subsequently won a $600m defense contract.[3] Blum and his wife have also received significant scrutiny and criticism due to his 75% stake in contractor Tutor Perini which received hundreds of millions to billions of dollars in military contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan during the US occupation of those countries.[14][15] Critics have argued that business contracts with the US government awarded to a company controlled by Blum raise a potential conflict-of-interest issue with the voting and policy activities of his wife.[16] In 2009, Feinstein introduced legislation to provide $25 billion in taxpayer money to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, a government agency that had recently awarded her husband’s real estate firm, CB Richard Ellis, what the Washington Times called “a lucrative contract to sell foreclosed properties at compensation rates higher than the industry norms.”[17] By all means go ahead and defend her. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/92 "2020-03-21T03:50:24Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Can we stop calling them the GOP? There’s been so much change, it really doesn’t fit the party anymore. GOP is a fine name, just capitalize it as Gop, pronounced like it appears, maybe call Republicans the “Goppers”. “Did you heard the latest whopper from the Top Gopper?” ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/93 "2020-03-21T04:04:14Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > KInda fits that Bush,\* fils\* should be the last true GOP pres. Don’t you mean Eisenhower? ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/94 "2020-03-21T09:32:45Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Can we stop calling them the GOP? There’s been so much change, it really doesn’t fit the party anymore. I think Grand Old Peckerheads suits them just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/95 "2020-03-21T15:43:13Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I will fill in: > > “What laws exactly did Burr break? Please cite the relevant statute. Until you can do so, we must assume that Burr is of exemplary character.” Likely candidate: the [STOCK Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STOCK_Act) of 2012. It stands for “Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge”. As a side note: Burr voted against it at the time, although it did pass. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/96 "2020-03-21T16:00:20Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I can’t but it’s okay since I’m not a federal prosecutor. I’m sure they won’t find it difficult. The will certainly find it difficult with Bill (Belongs Behind) Barr(s) running interference. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/97 "2020-03-21T16:12:06Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Likely candidate: the [STOCK Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STOCK_Act) of 2012. It stands for “Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge”. > > As a side note: Burr voted against it at the time, although it did pass. Gee, it’s almost like you read the third post in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/98 "2020-03-21T16:20:55Z")
Although Republicans, are, as we know, vermin, most of the accused have been more or less exonerated (NOT Burr). ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/99 "2020-03-21T16:54:56Z")
I’m opposed to the death penalty in all cases; I think it’s barbaric and corrosive. Some people do deserve it, though, even though I would never in any way support actually carrying out the execution, Richard Burr deserves to be executed. This is as bad as treason. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843/100 "2020-03-23T08:56:23Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Gee, it’s almost like you read the third post in this thread. What - read all posts in threads before responding? Do you think I’m made of money? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-purposely-downplayed-covid-19-warnings-so-they-could-offload-stock/849843.md?page=6)