WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Senator Kelly Loeffler said she’s getting out of the market altogether after coming under fire for stock trades, while a watchdog group is calling for an investigation.
“I’m not involved in directing stock trades,” she said Tuesday.
But the multi-millionaire Georgia Republican now said she’s liquidating stocks in managed accounts after allegations she violated Senate ethics rules on insider trading.
“These are false politically motivated allegations that I will absolutely be proving wrong,” she said.
Loeffler, North Carolina Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and Georgia’s other Senator David Perdue (R-GA) are all defending recent stock sales.
The senators denied reports they used classified information from a private senate briefing to sell certain stocks before the coronavirus caused the market to crash.
Burr has said he relied on “media reports” for his trading and has requested a Senate Ethics investigation he says will clear him of wrongdoing.
Perdue told us back in March, “I’ve had outside professionals that managed my personal affairs.”
Perdue’s office said he was not in the Senate briefing and that in the months of February and March, had more purchases made than sales.
Loeffler’s office said the briefing in the Senate Health Committee was not classified.
Noah Bookbinder with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is calling for continued investigation into the stock sales.
“I think there’s enough smoke there that an investigative body needs to look into it and see if there’s a fire.”
He said Loeffler getting out of the market should not end the investigation.
Loeffler’s Republican senate challenger Georgia Congressman Doug Collins (R-GA-9) says she needs to explain her actions to voters.
“I think the biggest problem she has right now is losing the trust of Georgians,” he said.
A National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson said, “Senator Loeffler continues to have widespread support.”
