Sen. Kelly Loeffler and her spouse unloaded millions of dollars' worth of stock from around mid-February to the middle of last month as markets began to plummet amid the mushrooming COVID-19 pandemic, new disclosures reveal, according to the New York Post.
Loeffler, a Georgia Republican who was appointed to her office in January, made big trades as the crisis worsened. This took place, the Post said, after an initial selloff last month that sparked irate claims of insider trading.
Loeffler had taken part in a January briefing for senators on the coronavirus, then mostly doing damage in China, butt denies that she unloaded any stocks based on non-public information.
Senate filings reportedly show she and her husband traded massive amounts of stock in Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the couple sold $18.7 million in Intercontinental Exchange, run by Loeffler’s husband, Jeff Sprecher.
But The Wall Street Journal reports that the couple “also exercised options to buy shares in the company, which provides their primary compensation, and sold them for about $10.9 million. This is a common practice for the couple. In the past three years, they have sold about $55 million of company shares for expenses and portfolio diversification, a campaign spokesman said.”
The couple's other sales included shares in Lululemon and T.J. Maxx, the paper said. The companies are among the major retailers suffering as more and more local officials began area lockdowns of their populations for all but essential services.
But all was not sales for Loeffler and her husband, the Post reported. There were significant purchases, too.
For instance, the couple bought up to $400,000 in stock in DuPont de Nemours in late February and early March, according to disclosure forms. DuPont makes personal protective equipment, or PPE, much in demand as medical professionals try to grapple with the growing human toll the virus has exacted.
Loeffler and three other senators came under fire last month for significant stock sales before the coronavirus pandemic's full scope became clear to the American public. James Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, and Dianne Feinstein, a California Dem, say they weren't at the Jan. 23 briefing on COVID-19. And Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, a GOP lawmaker from North Carolina, insisted his trades were made on the basis of public information.
A spokesperson for Loeffler told Newsmax: “Senator Loeffler filed another Periodic Transaction Report (PTR) and the facts are still the same. These transactions are consistent with historical portfolio activity and include a balanced mix of buys and sells. Her stock portfolio is managed independently by third-party advisors and she is notified, as indicated on the report, after transactions occur. Sen. Loeffler continues to operate with integrity and transparency – following both the spirit and the letter of the law. While some will continue to make baseless accusations devoid of facts, Senator Loeffler will continue working to keep Americans safe and provide much-needed relief to Georgia families and businesses impacted by COVID-19.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated from a previous version.
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