'Lock Them Up': Twitter Users Rip Senators For Dumping Stock Ahead Of Outbreak

Twitter uses are calling out Republican senators Richard Burr (N.C.) and Kelly Loeffler (Georgia) following reports that the two dumped stocks after receiving  briefings about the coronavirus threat.

Both were able to sell investments before this month’s market crash.

Neither lawmaker warned the public about the true nature of what the nation was facing; Burr even co-wrote an opinion piece for Fox News in early February crowing that the United States was “better prepared than ever before to face emerging public health threats, like the coronavirus.” 

Days later, Burr who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee sold off between $628,000 and $1.72 million in stock in 33 separate transactions, according to ProPublica .

Loeffler sold off stock in dozens of transactions  and also invested in a company that provides teleworking software, The Daily Beast reported on Thursday. Publicly, however, she accused Democrats of misleading the public about the threat and said Trump and his administration were “doing a great job working to keep Americans healthy & safe.” 

She wrote on Twitter this week that investment decisions for her portfolio “are made by multiple third-party advisors without my or my husband’s knowledge or involvement.”

Speaking before the allegations against Loeffler surfaced, Fox News host Tucker Carlson  said Burr should resign and face prosecution if he doesn’t have a good explanation for his actions.

“There is no greater moral crime than betraying your country in a time of crisis, and that appears to be what happened,” Carlson said.

People on Twitter were livid:  

Correction: An earlier version of this report incorrectly stated that the senators were given the information in an intelligence briefing.