Thieves in the temple

It stinks to the top of the Capitol dome. Even as Americans see their jobs vanish and their 401(k)s shrivel up, Sen. Richard Burr, who’s been privy to classified briefings on the emerging coronavirus pandemic, sold hundreds of thousands of dollars in stock soon before the bottom of the market began falling out late last month. And while he and the Trump administration put on a far happier face about COVID-19, Burr was sharing grim social and economic forecasts, warning well-connected constituents of a potential cataclysm.

Whether or not Burr answers calls to resign, federal insider trading investigators must dig deep, without delay, and prosecute him if they believe he ran afoul of federal law.

Burr is not alone. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, married to the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, sold large amounts of stock on Jan. 24, the very day her Health Committee was briefed on the threat. Richard Blum, the investor husband of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, sold shares at suspicious times; the senator says she had nothing to do with that trade. Sens. David Perdue and James Inhofe were also trading actively before the markets got wind of the full extent of the crisis.

Under the STOCK Act, members of Congress are forbidden from buying or selling shares based on nonpublic information.

If the evidence says the legislator-investors moved money to stem personal losses in advance of the bath they knew the rest of us were bound to take, throw the book at them.