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This column has been updated to reflect news developments.
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.
tylerbc on March 20th, 2020 at 14:52 UTC »
Whether they have an R or D next to their name, whichever lawmakers are guilty of profiteering off of a national emergency deserve to be impeached.
cabbieizstabbie on March 20th, 2020 at 13:47 UTC »
White collar crime. If Martha Stuart did time, these dummies better.
There's no excuse, I work in an accounting office and I'm forced to sign disclosures that I wont use that information to better my financial standing. There is absolutely no way SENATORS didn't.
Oh and not to mention they were clearly not looking out for public interest, despite the fact that it is quite literally their job description to care.
solutiondown on March 20th, 2020 at 13:08 UTC »
In the public markets, this is known as insider trading. For private officials, this appears to be known as insider gaining. The former is illegal, the latter should be impeachable.