The news that Republican Senators have engaged in what looks like blatant insider trading of their stock portfolios seems to have snagged Democrat Diane Feinstein as well. (Charlie Pierce reports the tag going around for these people is “Virus Vultures”.)
Republican Senators Richard Burr, Kelly Loeffler, Ron Johnson and James Inhofe have made a series of stock transactions which are alleged to have been based on inside information they received as members of the Senate. (Burr went further, giving a private briefing to a group of wealthy donors warning things were going to get really bad. He didn’t share that news with his constituents.)
Democratic Senator Feinstein is also being accused of trading stocks before the market crashed based on insider info. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Dustin Gardiner reports:
...she sold between $1.5 million and $6 million in a biotechnology company’s stock before the market crashed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
That would seem to be an open and shut case, except:
“During my Senate career I’ve held all assets in a blind trust of which I have no control,” Feinstein tweeted. “Reports that I sold any assets are incorrect.”
Which means that she, personally, did not direct the sale. And:
...Feinstein and her husband, investment banker Richard Blum, sold shares in Allogene Therapeutics, a biotechnology company, according to her financial disclosures. They sold shares on Jan. 13 and Feb. 18. The stock subsequently rose in value, peaking in early March.
According to the SF Chronicle report, Allogene Therapeutics is developing treatments for cancer and has no connection to any coronavirus treatments.
It’s not a crime for a Senator to have investments in the stock market; the problem is if a Senator is using information from their office denied to the rest of us in order to have an unfair advantage. Burr and Loeffler made a pattern of trades that appears to reflect what they had been briefed on; Feinstein’s case is a little different:
...Feinstein said reports that she attended a Jan. 24 Intelligence Committee classified briefing with administration officials on the coronavirus threat were incorrect. That briefing was in the same time frame as the stock sales by her and the other senators.
“I was unable to attend,” Feinstein tweeted.
More may come out on this, but on the basis of the SF Chron report, it appears that Feinstein may be getting a bum rap based on the following points:
- If she truly has a blind trust, she has no input into what the trust managers do with her portfolio.
- The timing is suspicious, but it may simply be a coincidence. Stuff happens.
- The pattern of stock trades does not appear to have any connection to expected fallout from coronavirus.
- Selling stock in only one company and not across an entire portfolio suggests it had more to do with that one company than with the situation in general.
- The S&P 500 crashed on what looks like February 20 — but the stock sold continued to do well into March.
Barring any further revelations, it appears that Feinstein is more a victim of bad optics and timing than intent. That will not stop the media from lumping her together with the others though, and the GOP and their propaganda outlets will use her as a club to attack alleged Democratic “hypocrisy”.
Trump is already being cute about it. From his worship service press conference today the SF Chron reports he had this to say:
President Trump defended Feinstein and the other senators during a news conference at the White House, though he said he hasn’t looked into the matter. He repeated Feinstein’s name several times, without naming the Republican senators.
“I think she’s a very honorable person,” he said. “I find them to be honorable people.”
emphasis added
When Trump has nice things to say about you, it’s a clear sign that he’s getting ready to stick in the knife. This is all going to get much uglier as things worsen and Trump tries to deflect blame while taking credit. Burr is definitely feeling some heat. So is Loeffler. How this will work out for the rest of them remains to be seen.
But the coronavirus doesn’t care.