A Tale of Two Americas: Justice Department drops probe of 3 senators accused of insider trading

Kelly Loeffler standing at a podium with several other lawmakers behind her

Screenshot / YouTube

Some people think they are above the law, and unfortunately, in a recent case, it appears the Justice Department of the United States agrees.

The Justice Department was investigating a group of senators over alleged insider trading. The multimillion-dollar trading took place after private briefings they received on the coronavirus pandemic.

In a move that has outraged the nation, the Justice Department abruptly dropped charges against three of the Senators: Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). It continues its investigation of Richard Burr (R-NC) and reports state they have seized his iPhone.

In related news, the husband of Senator Kelly Loeffler donated $1 million to a pro-Trump super PAC. This is the largest federal donation he has made to date. Her husband is Jeff Sprecher, who is the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. Could this be a conflict of interest?

All three senators claimed that investment advisors did the multimillion making trading without their knowledge at the time. If the Justice Department dropped the charges, should we assume their innocence?

Kelly Loeffler

Portrait photo of Kelly Loeffler

Wikimedia

Kelly Loeffler is the Republican Senator for Georgia. The wealthy businesswoman took up her seat just three months ago. Trump opposed her initially as he had lobbied for Republican Doug Collins. She is now a staunch supporter of the President. There is speculation her wealthy husband bought her seat.

Alongside the other senators, Loeffler was accused of dumping stock following a closed-door Senate briefing on the coronavirus pandemic. In Loeffler’s case, she sold $20 million worth of stock. She traded together with her husband - who has an estimated net worth of $500 million. The couple also invested in companies that have profited from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following her acquittal, Loeffler tweeted:

Dianne Feinstein

Wikimedia

Dianne Feinstein has been in office since 1994. Before being Senate of California, she was Mayor of San Francisco between 1978 and 1988. Feinstein is currently the oldest sitting senator. She denied the charge of insider trading and said her husband had made the trades. Her husband is investment banker Richard Blum.

Following her acquittal, Feinstein had no comment.

Jim Inhofe

Flickr/Gage Skidmore

Jim Mountain Inhofe is a Senator for Oklahoma. A staunch Republican, he has repeatedly voted against the healthcare bill in Senate. He wrote a book called “The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens your Future.”

Senator Inhofe sold stocks estimating to $400,000, which led to the probe on illegal insider trading.

Following his acquittal, Inhofe said:

“As I’ve said all along, I wasn’t even at the briefing and do not make my own stock trades. I did nothing wrong, and I’m pleased the Justice Department has exonerated me.”

The Burr investigation continues

Portrait of Senator Richard Burr

Wikimedia

The investigation of Burr continues. The ongoing probe is looking at trades worth up to $1.7 million, sold by the Senator. He claims he based his trading off public information, not the private briefing.

Just before the stock market crashed in March, Republican Senator Roe made hundreds of transactions, including snatching up shares of Zoom. The total assets were worth up to $18.4 million. He attended a House briefing on the coronavirus in early February.

He is not – currently – under investigation.

Twitter was seething

Many users saw this as a stark example of the Two Americas: one with political connections and hush money, and the rest. Some used the example of George Floyd, who was murdered by the police for allegedly writing a bad check. Floyd and Loeffler’s photos are a chilling example of one law for them, one for us.

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