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Politics and Government News
NPR Staff, NPR

Burr to step down as Intelligence chairman during probe of stock sell-off

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Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., pictured in February, is temporarily stepping aside as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee during an ongoing investigation by the Justice Department.
Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., pictured in February, is temporarily stepping aside as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee during an ongoing investigation by the Justice Department.
Alex Brandon | AP

Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., is stepping aside as chairman of the Intelligence Committee amid a Justice Department probe of his stock trades, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Thursday.

"Senator Burr contacted me this morning to inform me of his decision to step aside as Chairman of the Intelligence Committee during the pendency of the investigation," McConnell said in a written statement. "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."

A senior Justice Department official told NPR that the FBI executed a search warrant Wednesday and seized Burr's cellphone. The news of the search was first reported in “The Los Angeles Times.”

At issue are stock trades Burr made before the market crash caused by the coronavirus pandemic. ProPublica reported that he dumped up to $1.7 million in stocks, while assuring the public that the U.S. was well positioned to withstand the outbreak.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.