John,
As the coronavirus emergency continues to unfold around the country, Americans are taking action every day to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities.
Unfortunately, Republicans in Congress are too busy calling their investment managers to focus on their constituent’s needs.
New reports show GOP senators Richard Burr and Kelly Loeffler sold millions of dollars in stocks after gaining inside information through their Senate committees about the seriousness of the unfolding crisis - while at the same time reassuring their own constituents.
The actions of these senators is unconscionable. Instead of protecting lives, they chose to cash in. When they gained critical information, they reassured the public, then took actions to protect themselves.
On the same day her committee held a closed-door hearing on the unfolding pandemic, Senator Loeffler rushed to cash out stocks before the market tanked, selling as much as $3.1 million in personal holdings. Then, in a move to profit off the crisis, she invested up to $250,000 in a teleworking company.
Yet, in the following weeks Loeffler continued to reassure her own constituents about the coronavirus crisis, tweeting, “Here’s the truth: @realDonaldTrump & his administration are doing a great job working to keep Americans healthy & safe.”
As chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Richard Burr was receiving daily briefings about the unfolding coronavirus pandemic. But instead of warning his constituents, he offered public assurances the government was ready to fight the pandemic, while privately unloading up to $1.7 million in personal stock holdings.
Then, he tipped off his wealthy corporate donors about the dire economic and social consequences of the virus in a closed door meeting two weeks later. A secret recording from the meeting released yesterday revealed his comments, and here's what he said:
“There’s one thing that I can tell you about this: It is much more aggressive in its transmission than anything that we have seen in recent history... It is probably more akin to the 1918 pandemic.”
John, this is simply outrageous. These egregious violations of public trust endanger millions of lives when we need all hands on deck to protect the most vulnerable. Instead, these senators chose to protect their personal bank accounts.
Thank you for all you do,
The HAZMAT America Team
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