Think the media will report this as much as Richard Burr? Me neither [NY Post] Sen. Dianne Feinstein's office said Thursday that she was contacted by the FBI about stock sales she made early in the coronavirus pandemic.
The California Democrat's office confirmed that she was questioned after news broke that the FBI served a warrant Wednesday on Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) and seized his cellphone.
Feinstein, Burr and two other senators face scrutiny for large stock sales early in the pandemic, when senators received non-public warnings about potential economic havoc.
Feinstein spokesman Tom Mentzer said he believes that two other Senate offices ‐ those of Sens. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) ‐ also were contacted by the FBI.
Spokespeople for Loeffler and Inhofe did not immediately respond to The Post's requests for comment.
"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," Mentzer 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," Mentzer said.
Feinstein sold $500,001 to $1 million worth of stock in a company called Allogene Therapeutics on Jan. 31, less than a month before panic about the virus caused markets to plunge, Senate records show. Her husband sold $1,000,001 to $5 million worth of Allogene shares on Feb. 18, according to financial disclosures.
Burr, who was privy to early intelligence reports on the pandemic, sold as much as $1.72 million in stocks weeks before the market crashed. He lost his chairmanship of the Senate intelligence committee on Thursday amid the FBI investigation.
Loeffler and her husband sold millions after she attended a Jan. 24 private briefing for senators on COVID-19. She said the sales were made by outside advisers.
Feinstein and Inhofe said their stock sales were unrelated to non-public information and their reps said they did not attend the private briefing for senators.
Related:
Dianne Feinstein: 2020-04-13 Cruz Slams Feinstein: Trying To Send Millions To Iran, While Blocking Relief To American Businesses
Dianne Feinstein: 2020-04-12 Feinstein urges Trump to reverse plan to block Iran request for $5B in IMF aid
Dianne Feinstein: 2020-03-21 Dianne Feinstein, 3 more senators accused of dumping major holdings before stock market plunge
Dianne Feinstein: 2020-04-13 Cruz Slams Feinstein: Trying To Send Millions To Iran, While Blocking Relief To American Businesses
Dianne Feinstein: 2020-04-12 Feinstein urges Trump to reverse plan to block Iran request for $5B in IMF aid
Dianne Feinstein: 2020-03-21 Dianne Feinstein, 3 more senators accused of dumping major holdings before stock market plunge
Related:
Stock sales: 2020-04-23 Democratic congresswoman tapped for pandemic oversight failed to disclose 2019 stock sales
Stock sales: 2020-04-09 Sen. Loeffler's Stock Liquidation ‘is essentially a guilty plea,' says opponent Doug Collins
Stock sales: 2020-03-25 House members, Senate aides traded stocks in early days of coronavirus
Stock sales: 2020-04-23 Democratic congresswoman tapped for pandemic oversight failed to disclose 2019 stock sales
Stock sales: 2020-04-09 Sen. Loeffler's Stock Liquidation ‘is essentially a guilty plea,' says opponent Doug Collins
Stock sales: 2020-03-25 House members, Senate aides traded stocks in early days of coronavirus