As chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Richard Burr (R-North Carolina) has received daily briefings on the threat posed by Covid-19 since January. Burr insisted to the public that America was ready to handle the virus, but sold up to $1.5 million in stocks on February 13, less than a week before the stock market nosedived, according to Senate filings. Immediately before the sale, Burr wrote an op-ed assuring Americans that their government is “better prepared than ever” to handle the virus. 

After the sale, NPR reported that he told a closed-door meeting of North Carolina business leaders that the virus actually posed a threat “akin to the 1918 pandemic.” Burr does not dispute the NPR report.

In a tweet on Saturday, former 2020 presidential candidate and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard called for criminal investigations. “Congress/staff who dumped stocks after private briefings on impending coronavirus epidemic should be investigated and prosecuted for insider trading,” she wrote.

“Members of Congress should not be allowed to own stocks.”