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U.S. Senator Steps Aside as Committee Chair Amid Stock Trade Probe
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U.S. senator steps aside as committee chair amid stock trade probe [oann.com]:
U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) listens to testimony during the Senate Committee for Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response, in Washington, U.S., May 12, 2020. Toni L. Sandys/Pool via REUTERS
May 14, 2020
(Reuters) – U.S. Senator Richard Burr is stepping aside as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee during an investigation of stock trades he made before the sharp market downturn triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Senate’s Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Burr contacted him on Thursday morning to inform of his decision to step aside during the investigation.
“We agreed that this decision would be in the best interests of the committee and will be effective at the end of the day tomorrow,” McConnell said in a statement.
Burr had denied wrongdoing and said he relied solely on news reports to guide decisions on stock sales, amid reports that he and other senators sold shares after private briefings on the risks of the coronavirus crisis.
The Republican senator turned over his phone to agents after they served a search warrant on him at his Washington home, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing an unnamed law enforcement official.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Mark Hosenball and Lisa Lambertin Washington and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Writing by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Nick Macfie and Dan Grebler)
