Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

US senators dumped stock before coronavirus crash, prompting accusations of insider trading

Richard Burr and Kelly Loeffler sold as much as US$1.7 million and US$3.1 million in shares respectively before markets collapsed amid pandemic fears. Loeffler, one of the wealthiest US lawmakers, is married to chairman of New York Stock Exchange

An independent watchdog demanded an investigation on Friday after two Republican senators aware of the looming coronavirus disaster dumped their stocks even as the White House played down the threat.

Senator Richard Burr, the powerful chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Congress newcomer Kelly Loeffler both faced criticism over their investment sell-offs, weeks before US stock markets collapsed.

Burr, who receives almost daily briefings from the US intelligence community on threats to the country, sold as much as US$1.7 million worth of shares on February 13.

Loeffler’s investments manager sold as much as US$3.1 million in shares between late January and February 14, official documents show. Loeffler, one of the wealthiest US lawmakers, is a member of the Senate Health Committee. Her husband is chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.

Critics accuse both of acting on inside information about the Covid-19 virus threat.

They also noted that, while Burr wrote for Fox News in early February that the American public had little to fear, he told a private gathering of donors weeks later that the coronavirus could resemble the 1918 Spanish Flu, which killed tens of millions.

Both senators denied any impropriety as some calls came for their resignations.

“Burr knew how bad it would be. He told the truth to his wealthy donors, while assuring the public that we were fine. THEN he sold off $1.6 million in stock before the fall. He needs to resign,” Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter.

On Friday, independent Congressional watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint to the Senate Ethics Committee.

“The job of a US Senator is to serve the American people,” said CREW director Noah Bookbinder. “It appears that in a time of crisis, these senators chose instead to serve themselves, violating the public trust and abdicating their duty.”



The reports of insider stock trading added fuel to accusations that Trump and the US leadership knew of the serious threat but kept the public in the dark, delaying action that could have curbed the spread of infections.

As the Senate Intelligence Committee chairman, Burr receives much of the same daily reports on threats to the country as the White House.

He wrote on the Fox News website on February 7 that the government was “better prepared than ever” for the Covid-19 virus. But on February 13 he and his wife sold holdings in major companies, including leading hotel and travel groups.

At the time the US had only about a dozen cases and Trump was saying the country would not be significantly affected.

On February 27, one day after Trump declared that the number of US cases would decline, the North Carolina senator told wealthy donors that coronavirus was a threat like the 1918 Spanish Flu, National Public Radio reported Thursday.

“It is much more aggressive in its transmission than anything that we have seen in recent history,” Burr told the group. “It is probably more akin to the 1918 pandemic,” he said, warning them not to travel.

Burr defended his actions, saying NPR had “knowingly and irresponsibly misrepresented” his speech to donors.


In a statement on Friday he said he himself had asked the Senate Ethics Committee to review the matter “with full transparency”.

“I relied solely on public news reports to guide my decision regarding the sale of stocks on February 13,” he said.

Loeffler, who received a government briefing on the coronavirus threat on January 24, called the criticisms “a ridiculous and baseless attack”.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×