Tucker says Loeffler 'should leave office' if she knew of controversial stock trades and claimed all was well
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Tucker Carlson ended his program Thursday by addressing the latest details in the case of Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., who was criticized for dumping stocks after receiving a briefing from two members of President Trump's coronavirus task force.
"New congressional disclosures show that Loeffler sold far more stock than we initially knew," the "Tucker Carlson Tonight" host began. "Between Feb. 26 and March 11, Loeffler and her husband dumped almost 19 million dollars of stock in Intercontinental Exchange. That's the company her husband runs.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"During that same period, the couple also sold more than a million dollars in shares of other companies, including several retailers. Meanwhile, they bought a lot of DuPont [stock]. DuPont manufactures antiviral protective gear."
SCHUMER CALLS FOR ETHICS REVIEW OF SENATORS' PRE-CORONAVIRUS STOCK SALES
Loeffler defended her stock trades Wednesday by stressing that her investment portfolio is “managed independently by third-party advisors [sic]." The trades disclosures were first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"So did Loeffler know any of this was happening? We don't know the answer to that," Carlson said. "We do know that on March 10, after almost all these trades were done, she went on Twitter to assure her constituents that everything was fine."
"The good news is the consumer is strong. The economy is strong. Jobs are growing," Loeffler said in a video posted to Twitter on that date. "Our president has done a fantastic job in making sure that we're in the best position to manage through this situation."
"Again, we don't know the truth," Carlson said, "but if Loeffler knew about these trades and still issued the little PSA we showed you, she should leave office."
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Loeffler denied wrongdoing in a March 20 interview conducted by Carlson.
The host also said a federal investigation should take place into Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., who executed similar trades to Loeffler's around the same time.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Brooke Singman and Edmunde DeMarche contributed to this report.