- Senator Richard Burr stepped aside as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday after the FBI raided him home and seized his cell phone
- Mitch McConnell said Thursday that Burr contacted me this morning to inform me of his decision to step aside… during the pendency of the investigation’Â
- This comment from the Senate majority leader suggests the move is temporary Â
- Butt surrendered his cell phone to federal agents after they served a search warrant on the lawmaker at his Washington home
- The North Carolina Republican sold a large percentage of his stock portfolio in February shortly before the market slumped
- Justice Department are investigating whether Burr violated a law that prevents members of Congress from trading on insider information
- Across 33 different transactions on February 13, Burr sold off between $628,000 and $1.72 million of his holdings, following coronavirus briefingsÂ
- Hereâs how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Republican Senator Richard Burr stepped aside Thursday as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee â the morning after the FBI seized his cellphone as it probes whether he profited from insider trading.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the move was ‘temporary’ but its speed underlines the scale of shock around a sitting senator being raided by the FBI.
‘Senator Burr contacted me this morning to inform me of his decision to step aside as Chairman of the Intelligence Committee during the pendency of the investigation,’ McConnell said Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
‘We agreed that this decision would be in the best interests of the committee and will be effective at the end of the day tomorrow,’ the top Senate Republican continued.
FBI officers raided Burr’s home Wednesday night and seized his cellphone as part of the Justice Department’s investigation into controversial stock trades he made at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
The North Carolina senator, who also is a member of the health committee, sold a large percentage of his stock portfolio in February shortly before the market slumped and just after he began receiving daily briefings on the coronavirus.
Questions emerged this week, however, over whether Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler will face the same fate for her investment actions at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
