GOP Senators are Accused of Profitting Off Coronavirus Crisis by “Smash and Grabbing” Stocks

Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) is the newest member of the Senate. Having been sworn in on January 6 upon the resignation of former Senator Johnny Isakson, she’ll be facing a special election for her seat at the end of the year. That is, if she makes it that far—Loeffler is the second GOP senator to be accused of gaming the stock market during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak for high profits. After a private, senators-only meeting on January 24 about the upcoming crisis, Loeffler gradually sold off stocks totaling more than $1.2 million.

Appreciate today’s briefing from the President’s top health officials on the novel coronavirus outbreak. These men and women are working around the clock to keep our country safe and healthy. #gapolhttps://t.co/5866TrrEFc

— Senator Kelly Loeffler (@SenatorLoeffler) January 25, 2020

Perhaps predicting the ensuing stock crash (who wouldn’t, with the insider knowledge provided by the CDC director Robert Redfield and the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci), Loeffler began selling off stocks that would logically tank upon a crisis like we are in now. She also made 2 purchases among her 29 stock transactions—one was an investment between $100,000 and $250,000 in Citrix, a company that provides remote, work-from-home software. Convenient that she would expect an upswing in their stock value.

Loeffler has taken some heat since. Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) tweeted a call for Loeffler’s resignation, as well as a second senator, assumedly Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) for his suspiciously timed sales in stocks ranging from Apple to Paypal. She could also be referring to Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) who unloaded up to $1.6 million in stock sales in mid-February, mostly in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and Extended Stay America. The hospitality industry, obviously, has taken a huge hit since. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) chimed in with a similar sentiment.

It is stomach-churning that the first thoughts these Senators had to a dire & classified #COVID briefing was how to profit off this crisis.

They didn’t mobilize to help families, or prep response. They dumped stock.

Sen. Loeffler needs to resign, too. https://t.co/3lx1Bjt4be

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 20, 2020

Here’s some of the sales in the period after that briefing by Sen Kelly Loeffler R-GA pic.twitter.com/fSKzoOIK6y

— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) March 20, 2020

There need to be two open Senate seats by the morning.

No excuses.https://t.co/6pyeeJ9VLd

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 20, 2020

Both Inhofe and Loeffler have since deflected accusations. Loeffler claims she and her husband don’t make investment decisions for themselves, and instead third-party advisors handle that all on their own. Inhofe says he wasn’t even at the CDC meeting (he was meeting with “pro-life kids” from Oklahoma), as if his fellow senators would have failed to inform him of the content of the meeting. Regardless, both’s flippancy towards their own financial decisions since is alarming, and it’s hard to take their innocent act without a grain of salt.

The New York Times allegations are completely baseless and 100 percent false. I was not at the briefing on January 24. I was meeting with pro-life kids from Oklahoma here for the March for Life and the new nominee to be U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania.

— Sen. Jim Inhofe (@JimInhofe) March 20, 2020

This is a ridiculous and baseless attack. I do not make investment decisions for my portfolio. Investment decisions are made by multiple third-party advisors without my or my husband’s knowledge or involvement.

— Senator Kelly Loeffler (@SenatorLoeffler) March 20, 2020

It would be nice if, in the coming weeks, Senators Loeffler, Inhofe and Burr made donations toward relief funds for those affected by Coronavirus (maybe to workers whose jobs have been lost in the hospitality industry for Burr?). Of course, a resignation would also be acceptable.