Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) has been the topic of extensive criticism after it was reported that she dumped millions in stocks after a coronavirus briefing, and a recent report shed even more light on the southern senator’s financial maneuvering.
Loeffler’s stock moves were first revealed in mid-March by The Daily Beast but this week her office gave a more detailed description to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC).
In a time-frame spanning from late February to mid-March, Loeffler dumped over $18 million in stocks in Intercontinental Exchange, a finance company where she was formerly the CEO. Soon after Loeffler made her final sale, on March 11, Intercontinental Exchange’s stock plummeted.
She also bought stocks in companies manufacturing personal protective gear that protects healthcare workers against the coronavirus.
Loeffler’s spokesperson defended the transaction, telling AJC, “Sen. Loeffler came to Washington on a promise to be a different kind of elected official. She holds herself to high standards of ethics and transparency, including acting in accordance with both the letter and spirit of the law, which she has done at every step of her time in the Senate and in her lengthy career in financial services.”
Some of Loeffler’s sales came after senators held a private meeting discussing the coronavirus — raising the concern that she traded on nonpublic information. She has denied the allegations of insider trading.
But she has been criticized even by members of her own party. Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) wrote on Twitter, “People are losing their jobs, their businesses, their retirements, and even their lives and Kelly Loeffler is profiting off their pain? I’m sickened just thinking about it.”
People are losing their jobs, their businesses, their retirements, and even their lives and Kelly Loeffler is profiting off their pain? I'm sickened just thinking about it.
— Doug Collins (@CollinsforGA) March 20, 2020
She is not the only senator who is accused of trading on nonpublic information. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) is also facing allegations of insider trading and is reportedly being investigated by the Department of Justice.
