Sen. Loeffler defends COVID-19 stock trades: These are '100% political attacks'
Sandra Smith questions Senator Kelly Loeffler about criticism over financial trades she made after receiving classified briefings on coronavirus
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U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Georgia, has turned over personal stock documents and other information to federal authorities amid scrutiny over transactions she allegedly made after attending a January government briefing on the coronavirus, Fox News confirmed Thursday.
“Senator Loeffler has forwarded documents and information to DOJ, the SEC, and the Senate Ethics Committee establishing that she and her husband acted entirely appropriately and observed both the letter and the spirit of the law,” a Loeffler spokesperson told Fox, referring to the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“The documents and information demonstrated her and her husband’s lack of involvement in their managed accounts, as well the details of those accounts,” the spokesperson added. “Senator Loeffler has welcomed and responded to any questions from day one.”
“Senator Loeffler has welcomed and responded to any questions from day one.”
REPUBLICAN SEN. LOEFFLER DEFENDS PRE-PANDEMIC STOCK SALES: 'THIS IS A 100 PERCENT POLITICAL ATTACK'
Loeffler’s office would not say whether the senator spoke directly with law enforcement officials.
“No search warrant has been served on Sen. Loeffler. She has followed both the letter and spirit of the law and will continue to do so,” the spokesperson added.
Between the day of the virus briefing, Jan. 24, and feb. 14, Loeffler and her husband sold stock worth between $1.2 million and $3.1 million, and purchased stock in a maker of software that helps people work from home -- just before millions of workers were forced to leave their offices amid coronavirus business rules, The Daily Beast reported.
The development came one day after federal agents executed a search warrant at the Washington-area home of Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., another senator whose stock transactions came into question following the coronavirus briefing.
As part of the operation, authorities seized Burr’s cellphone, a law enforcement source told Fox News.
On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced that Burr had stepped aside as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee as he deals with the investigation into his stock sales.
On Tuesday, Loeffler pushed back against criticism over her stock transactions during an appearance on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.”
Critics, including Senate primary opponent Rep. Doug Collins, have suggested Loeffler may have engaged in insider trading based on her knowledge about the coronavirus crisis -- an accusation she has denied.
She called the criticism “a 100 percent political attack.”
Last month, Loeffler -- who has said her accounts were managed by outside investment advisers -- announced the liquidation of all of her and her husband’s holdings in managed accounts.
Loeffler, 49, joined the Senate in January after being appointed in December to temporarily fill a vacancy left when former Sen. Johnny Isakson resigned because of health concerns. She is a co-owner of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream and is the wife of Jeffrey Sprecher, chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.
After Isakson announced plans to step down, some allies of President Trump expressed support for Collins to be appointed to the Senate, but Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp appointed Loeffler instead.
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Now Collins and Loeffler are among the candidates competing in a special election in November to complete the rest of Isakson’s term, which will expire in January 2023.
Meanwhile, a third senator facing scrutiny for stock sales – Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California – confirmed through a spokesman that she had spoken with law enforcement about stock trades.
“Senator Feinstein was asked some basic questions by law enforcement about her husband’s stock transactions, as I think all offices in the initial story were,” the spokesman said. “She was happy to voluntarily answer those questions to set the record straight and provided additional documents to show she had no involvement in her husband’s transactions. There have been no follow up actions on this issue.”
Fox News’ Brooke Singman, Mike Emanuel, Talia Kaplan and Edmund DeMarche contributed to this story.
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