>>> NOW TO AN IMPORTANT STORY. DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST THING
YOU DID WHEN YOU REALIZED THE
CORONAVIRUS IS GOING TO REALLY
IMPACT THE U.S.?
DID YOU CALL A LOVED ONE OR TALK
THINGS THROUGH WITH YOUR
CHILDREN?
CHILDREN? OR MAYBE GO BUY EXTRA GROCERY,
SUPPLIES, SANITIZER?
SUPPLIES, SANITIZER? OR IF YOU WORK IN HEALTH CARE,
YOU MAY HAVE KNOWN EARLIER.
YOU MAY HAVE DISCUSSED
PRECAUTIONS AT WORK.
IF YOU SERVE IN GOVERNMENT, YOU
MIGHT HAVE BEEN PRIVY TO EARLIER
WARNINGS AND BASICALLY THE
PREPARATIONS, WHICH PROVIDE
EXTRA TIME TO DO ANY OF THE
ABOVE.
ABOVE. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT SOME U.S.
SENATORS DID WHEN THEY GOT EARLY
SECRET WARNINGS ABOUT THIS
VIRUS?
VIRUS? THEY ALLEGEDLY SWIFTLY MOVED TO
PROFIT ON IT.
TO EITHER SAVE OR MAKE MONEY IN
THEIR STOCK PORTFOLIOS.
THIS STORY TONIGHT RIGHT NOW IS
THE FIRST WASHINGTON SCANDAL OF
THE CORONAVIRUS ERA.
OBVIOUSLY IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG.
HERE ARE THE BASICS.
RICHARD BURR, THE REPUBLICAN
SENATOR WHO LEADS THE
INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE, GOT KEY
CORONAVIRUS BRIEFINGS WAY BACK
IN FEBRUARY AND THEN MADE
RELATED TRADES, UNLOADING $1.7
MILLION OF STOCK, INCLUDING IN
KEY INDUSTRIES LIKE HOTELS AND
RESORTS, NPR REPORTING HE
GRASPED THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE
EPIDEMIC, DISCUSSED HIS CONCERNS
AT A PRIVATE LUNCHEON, WHILE IN
PUBLIC WENT ON TO TELL IS
DIFFERENT STORY.
DIFFERENT STORY. HE WROTE IN ONE ARTICLE THE U.S.
IS BETTER PREPARED THAN EVER TO
FACE A CORONAVIRUS.
ANOTHER SENATOR, KELLY LOVELER
SELLING MILLIONS IN STOCK AFTER
A PRIVATE MEETING ON JANUARY
24th, INVESTING IN COMPANIES
THAT WOULD GO UP IN VALUE FROM
THE PANDEMIC, BUYING STOCK, FOR
EXAMPLE, IN A COMPANY THAT HELPS
PEOPLE WORK FROM HOME CALLED
CITRIX WHILE STILL RECENTLY
STRIKING A VERY DIFFERENT NOTE
IN PUBLIC.
IN PUBLIC. >> THE GOOD NEWS IS THE CONSUMER
IS STRONG.
IS STRONG. THE ECONOMY IS STRONG.
JOBS ARE GROWING.
OUR PRESIDENT HAS DONE A
FANTASTIC JOB.
FANTASTIC JOB. >> NOW THERE ARE DEFENSES TO ALL
OF THIS.
OF THIS. SENATOR BURR IS INSISTING THAT
HE RELIED ONLY ON PUBLIC
INFORMATION TO MAKE WHATEVER
TRADES HE DID.
LEFFLER SAYING ANY DECISIONS FOR
HER INVESTMENTS ARE MADE BY
THIRD PARTY ADVISERS.
BUT THE OUTRAGE HERE IS
OBVIOUSLY PILING UP, FROM
ANTI-CORRUPTION EXPERTS, FROM
NONPARTISAN GOOD GOVERNMENT
GROUPS WHO SAY THE LAW SHOULDN’T
ALLOW THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE.
CERTAINLY FROM PROGRESSIVE
CRITICS, AND CRITICISM OF ALL OF
THIS BY AN ANCHOR THAT PRESIDENT
TRUMP HIMSELF WATCHES AND TWEETS
ABOUT, TUCKER CARLSON.
>> MAYBE THERE IS AN HONEST
EXPLANATION FOR WHAT HE DID.
IF THERE IS, HE SHOULD SHARE
WITH THE REST OF US IMMEDIATELY.
OTHERWISE HE MUST RESIGN FROM
THE SENATE AND FACE PROSECUTION
FOR INSIDER TRADING.
>> THAT’S TOUGH TALK.
THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT STORY.
NOT ONLY FOR WHAT MAY BE PARTLY
LEGAL CORRUPTION THAT IS
REVEALED, BUT ALSO THE SPOTLIGHT
THIS PUTS ON THE PRIORITIES OF
PEOPLE WHO LITERALLY WRITE THE
LAWS THAT GOVERNOR US RIGHT NOW,
THAT DECIDE HOW YOUR GOVERNMENT
AND YOUR TAX DOLLARS WILL COMBAT
THIS CRISIS.
THIS CRISIS. IT REVEALS WHERE THEIR HEADS ARE
AT WHEN THEY GET THIS
INFORMATION, AND WHETHER THEY DO
MORE, SOME OF THEM ALLEGEDLY TO
MAKE MONEY OFF OF IT WHILE
SAYING THE OPPOSITE IN PUBLIC
INSTEAD OF LOOKING OUT FOR YOU.
AND ANOTHER I THINK I WANT TO
EMPHASIZE HERE TONIGHT, THE ONLY
REASON WE KNOW ABOUT THIS IS
BECAUSE OF REPORTING AND
RELATIVELY RECENT LEGAL
REQUIREMENTS PASSED BY, YES, THE
CONGRESS.
CONGRESS. SENATOR KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, FOR
EXAMPLE, PUSHED FOR THIS RULE,
AND SHE ARGUED BACK WHEN THIS
WAS A DEBATE IN CONGRESS THAT,
QUOTE, POLITICIANS SHOULD PLAY
BY THE SAME RULES AS EVERYONE
ELSE.
ELSE. SENATOR GILLIBRAND WROTE PART OF
THE VERY STOCK ACT IN 2012 THAT
PREVENTS AND DISCLOSES SOME OF
THIS TYPE OF INFORMATION AND
MATERIAL TRADING.
MATERIAL TRADING. AND WE SHOULD NOTE SENATOR BURR
WAS ONE OF A VERY FEW SENATORS
WHO VOTED AGAINST IT AT THE
TIME.
TIME. HE SAID HE WAS ONE OF THE BRAVE
SOULS TO PUSH AGAINST THIS KIND
OF DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT.
I’M JOINED NOW BY U.S. SENATOR
KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND OF NEW YORK.
THANK YOU FOR MAKING TIME FOR US
THERE.
THERE. IS MANY, MANY IMPORTANT THINGS
GOING ON IN YOUR STATE AND
AROUND THE COUNTRY, BUT IT WOULD
SEEM THAT WHAT HAS BEEN REVEALED
HERE UNDERSCORES THE NEED NOT
ONLY FOR WHAT YOU FOUGHT FOR IN
DISCLOSING THIS, BUT GOING
FURTHER AND PREVENTING IT.
WALK US THROUGH YOUR VIEW OF
THIS TONIGHT.
THIS TONIGHT. >> SO OBVIOUSLY IT RAISE AS HUGE
RED FLAG.
RED FLAG. THE PURPOSE OF THE STOCK ACT WAS
SO THAT MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
COULD NOT TRADE ON NONPUBLIC
INFORMATION THAT THEY RECEIVED
IN THE COURSE OF DOING THEIR
JOB.
JOB. OBVIOUSLY, THE FACTS SURROUNDING
THE TRADES BY THESE TWO SENATORS
ARE DEEPLY CONCERNING.
THEY WERE PRIVY TO NONPUBLIC
INFORMATION FAR EARLIER THAN THE
TYPICAL AMERICAN CONSTITUENT,
AND IT’S CONCERNING THAT THEY
ACTED ON THAT INFORMATION AND
MADE TRADES THAT MADE THEM
MONEY.
MONEY. I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE
INVESTIGATED.
INVESTIGATED. IT HAS TO BE THOROUGHLY
INVESTIGATED.
INVESTIGATED. IT SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED BY THE
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO SEE IF
INSIDER TRADING IN FACT DID TAKE
PLACE.
PLACE. >> CAN CONGRESS SIMPLY BAN ANY
INDIVIDUAL TRADING BY ITS
MEMBERSHIP TO GET A BASICALLY A
WIDER, BRIGHTER LINE AROUND
THIS?
THIS? >> I THINK IT SHOULD, FRANKLY.
I DON’T THINK MEMBERS OF
CONGRESS SHOULD BE BUYING AND
SELLING STOCKS.
SELLING STOCKS. BECAUSE EVEN IF THEY’RE NOT
ENGAGED IN INSIDER TRADING, SO
OFTEN IT WILL CREATE THE
APPEARANCE OF IMPROPRIETY.
AND CONGRESS NEEDS TO IMPROVE
ITS REPUTATION, NOT CONTINUE TO
STRAIN THE BELIEF BY THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE THAT WE’RE DOING
THE RIGHT THING, THAT WE ARE
DOING WHAT’S IN THE PUBLIC’S
BEST INTEREST.
BEST INTEREST. AND ULTIMATELY, THIS ALL COMES
DOWN TO GREED.
AND THAT’S ONE OF THE BIGGEST
PROBLEMS WE HAVE IN WASHINGTON.
JUST THE AMOUNT OF MONEY IN
POLITICS ALONG WITH HOW THIS
PLACE RUNS.
PLACE RUNS. AND EVEN THE MOST RECENT BILL
FROM MITCH McCONNELL.
IT’S PROBLEMATIC.
IT’S PROBLEMATIC. >> BECAUSE OF WHAT SENATOR BURR
SAID IN PUBLIC, THERE IS AN
EXTRA SPOTLIGHT ON IT THAT GOES
NOT ONLY TO THE POTENTIAL LEGAL
QUESTIONS OF OKAY, DID YOU GO
OVER THE LINE, BUT ALSO
SOMETHING THAT IS OBVIOUSLY
PERFECTLY LEGAL.
PERFECTLY LEGAL. POLITICIANS CAN LIE.
WE ALL KNOW THAT.
BUT I’M CURIOUS JUST AT A LEVEL
OF POLICY JUDGMENT WHETHER
YOU’RE CONCERNED GIVEN YOUR WORK
ON THIS ABOUT THE DISTINCTION
BETWEEN WHAT HE DID IN PRIVATE,
WHICH APPEARED TO EVINCE
KNOWLEDGE THAT THIS WAS BAD AND
GETTING WORSE AND WHAT HE SAID
IN PUBLIC.
IN PUBLIC. WE HAVE SOME SOUND FROM
FEBRUARY.
FEBRUARY. TAKE A LISTEN.
>> THERE IS ONE THING I CAN TELL
YOU ABOUT THIS, IT IS MUCH MORE
AGGRESSIVE IN ITS TRANSMISSION
THAN ANYONE WE HAVE SEEN IN
RECENT HISTORY.
RECENT HISTORY. IT’S PROBABLY MORE AKIN TO THE
1980 PANDEMIC.
1980 PANDEMIC. >> NPR HAS THAT FROM HIM IN
FEBRUARY.
FEBRUARY. WE JUST SHOWED, THOUGH, WHAT HE
AND OTHERS WERE SAYING IN PUBLIC
AFTER THAT POINT.
WHAT IS YOUR VIEW OF ANY
POTENTIAL PROBLEM THERE?
>> WELL, OBVIOUSLY, WHEN MEMBERS
OF CONGRESS HAVE A PERSONAL VIEW
AND THEN THEY HAVE A PUBLIC
VIEW, IT’S NOT FAIR TO THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE.
AMERICAN PEOPLE. AND IN THIS INSTANCE, IF YOU
ACTUALLY PROFITED ON YOUR
PRIVATE VIEW AND YOU DID NOT
DISCLOSE THAT TO THE AMERICAN
PUBLIC, AGAIN, IT’S GOING TO
UNDERMINE PEOPLE’S FAITH THAT
THIS GOVERNMENT WORKS FOR THEM.
THAT’S WHY THEY’RE SO TIRED OF
POLITICIANS WHO SAY ONE THING
BUT DO THE OTHER.
AND SO WE NEED HONEST
POLITICIANS, PEOPLE WHO PUT
THEIR CONSTITUENTS FIRST.
AND BOTH OF THESE CASES RAISE
BIG CONCERNS FOR ME.