Justice Department ends inquiries into three senators’ stock trades

WASHINGTON >> The Justice Department notified three senators on Tuesday that it will not pursue insider trading charges against them after an investigation into stock transactions from the early days of the coronavirus pandemic did not find sufficient evidence they had broken the law, according to a person briefed on the investigations.

The department contacted lawyers for Sens. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga; James M. Inhofe, R-Okla.; and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. All three had sold substantial amounts of stock in late January or early February when lawmakers were being briefed on the novel coronavirus threat but before the pandemic began roiling financial markets or was fully understood by the public.

Law enforcement officials appear to still be investigating Sen. Richard Burr, RN.C., whose own mid-February stock sales have drawn scrutiny from the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission. This month, FBI agents seized Burr’s cellphone.

For the other senators, the notifications are likely to begin lifting suspicions that have lingered since mid-March, when they disclosed the trades in mandatory Senate filings. At a time when millions of Americans were losing their jobs and markets had plummeted, even the possibility that members of Congress had used their positions to protect themselves financially prompted cries for resignations and investigations.

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment. An aide to Loeffler confirmed the notification, and aides for the other senators did not immediately respond to requests for comment.