On Jan. 31, Burr received nonpublic information from a source whose name is redacted in the FBI documents. That same day, Burr put in orders to sell nearly $110,000 in stock from his and his wife’s brokerage accounts. On Feb. 12, Burr ordered the purchase of approximately $1.2 million of Treasury securities, using 76% of the total holdings in Burr and his wife’s joint account.
“Investors often purchase U.S. Treasury funds to hedge against a potential market downturn,” the FBI special agent, Brandon Merriman, notes. He also noted that the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high of 29,551.42 on Feb. 12.
Bolding mine, because those two points of information clearly define insider trading. And Burr was up to his elbows in it:
Sens. Thom Tillis and Richard Burr voted Thursday against the bill they helped craft that would benefit veterans from Camp Lejeune who were exposed to toxic chemicals in the base’s water for nearly three decades. A version of this bill did pass the House 256-174 in March, with mixed results from North Carolina’s 13 representatives. Reps. David Rouzer, Patrick McHenry, Madison Cawthorn, Dan Bishop, Ted Budd and Virginia Foxx, all Republicans, voted against the bill.
The Honoring our PACT Act of 2021 would provide health care through the Department of Veteran Affairs to veterans exposed to toxic substances, ensures veterans aren’t forced to prove their exposure before receiving care and makes improvements to the department’s process for receiving care for exposure.
This subject is not new to BlueNC readers; it's been on our radar for over 12 years. Understand, this bill doesn't "give away" a bunch of taxpayers' dollars, it merely provides health care treatment for military and civilians recklessly exposed to toxic chemicals while working for the DoD. And big surprise: that is expensive. It's also not surprising the VA's budget has grown exponentially over the last twenty years thanks to our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. $300 Billion and rising. But pay attention to Randall Stagner in this clip:
The Justice Department has closed investigations into stock trading by Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California, Kelly Loeffler of Georgia and Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, according to people familiar with notifications sent to the senators. The senators came under scrutiny for transactions made in the weeks before the coronavirus sent markets downhill.
The developments indicate that federal law enforcement officials are narrowing their focus in the stock investigation to Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C, the former Senate Intelligence Committee chairman. Agents showed up at his Washington-area home about two weeks ago with a warrant to search his cellphone.
I have a theory about what is going on, backed up more by intuition than hard facts, so it's grain of salt time: Burr's last act as Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee was to turn over the report on Russian interference in the 2016 election to the intel community itself, so they could decide which parts need to be classified for national security purposes. The fact the DOJ is still holding onto Burr over the insider trading tells me they don't know what's in the report he turned over. Barr's move to exonerate Michael Flynn proves he doesn't give a rodent's posterior about actual crimes, and that he believes the DOJ's major function is to protect Trump. When the de-classified version of Burr's report comes out, he will either remain under investigation or that investigation will be dropped, depending on how bad the report makes Trump (or his pal Putin) look. Film at eleven.
And said lobbyist had business before Burr's Committee:
Burr sold the small townhouse, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, for what, by some estimates, was an above market price — $900,000 — to a team led by lobbyist John Green. That is tens of thousands of dollars above some estimates of the property’s value by tax assessors, a real estate website and a local real estate agent. The sale was done off-market, without the home being listed for sale publicly.
Green is a longtime donor to Burr’s political campaigns and has co-hosted at least one fundraiser for him. In 2017, the year of the sale, Green lobbied on behalf of a stream of clients with business before Burr’s committees.
If there was ever a poster-child for term limits, Burr is it. He's been in Washington for a quarter of a century. Went from a former lawn-mower salesman to a multi-millionaire, all while supposedly being a public servant. How does one do that, you might ask? By doing favors for lobbyists:
Lots of people are calling for Burr to resign, and god knows we'd all be better off if he did. But there's danger. Specifically this: If he were to resign, the executive committee of the NCGOP gets to nominate his replacement ... with Cooper having to choose among their three submissions.
The Senate Intelligence Committee’s decision to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. has ignited an internal Republican firefight over the fate of the committee’s Russia probe, as the panel’s GOP chairman showed no signs of backing down despite fierce criticism from many of his colleagues that it was time to move on.
Much of the backlash against the decision by Chairman Richard Burr (N.C.) to subpoena President Trump’s eldest son came from GOP senators who are up for reelection next year and from those closely aligned with the president. The outrage was partially fueled by Trump Jr. and his own allies.
Much like his father, Trump Jr is simply not clever enough to understand the pros and cons. He could put this issue to bed pretty quickly by showing up and giving a few hours of testimony, but (just like dad) he's too arrogant to do that. And the end result is more focus on the Russia meeting, not less. Say what you will about Richard Burr, he's wholly invested in the reputation of the Intel Committee, and he's not going to leave any questions unanswered. Here's some whining from the peanut gallery:
This is big: Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr was a backchannel for the White House. He apparently passed along information about the FBI investigation to White House counsel Don McGahn, who passed it along to Trump. pic.twitter.com/jksXVsoVAZ
Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation is allegedly wrapping up in short order. For nearly two years, his office has worked tirelessly to answer essential questions pertaining to Russian involvement in the 2016 election. The investigation has already resulted in 8 eight guilty pleas — including President Trump’s campaign chairman, longtime lawyer, National Security advisor, and deputy campaign manager — and 29 other indictments.
We have come to expect lying from people in politics, including gross misrepresentations of objective reality. The president and his allies are free to say, "We never promised Mexico would pay for the wall," when reality suggests otherwise. Lying is the essence of being a Trump Republican.
I believe "Trump Republicanism" is what 2020 elections will be about. Do you stand with the liar or do you stand against him?
Back in 2016, when North Carolina Republican Richard Burr prevailed against Democratic challenger Deborah Ross, Burr employed National Media outright, while the NRA used Red Eagle. As in the other races, Ferrell signed off on purchases for both sides. FCC paperwork filed by WECT, the NBC affiliate in Wilmington, shows Ferrell signing off on purchases for the Burr campaign on October 12, 24, and 27 and November 2 as an “agent for Richard Burr Committee.” At the same time, he authorized Red Eagle purchases on behalf of the NRA on September 19 and October 21.
The campaign coordination alone is a serious issue, and one of the few safeguards left in place after Citizens United. But even more concerning is the likelihood that Russian money was used to get Richard Burr re-elected:
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