The Justice Department is dropping its investigations into controversial stock trades made by Sens. Kelly Loeffler, Dianne Feinstein and Jim Inhofe in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, their offices confirmed Tuesday.
The decision comes after the FBI served Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) a search warrant and seized his cellphone earlier this month, as part of its broader investigation into his financial transactions.
Burr, along with Loeffler (R-Ga.), Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Inhofe (R-Okla.) have come under scrutiny for making stocks trades after receiving private briefings on the coronavirus and before the pandemic roiled markets. All four senators have denied any wrongdoing.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report the Justice Department’s decision to drop the investigations into Loeffler, Feinstein and Inhofe. A spokesperson for Burr declined to comment. The Justice Department also declined to comment.
Amid the controversy, Burr has stepped down temporarily as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The Justice Department’s decision to drop its probe into Loeffler is welcome news for the senator, who faces a serious challenge from Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) in a November special election.
“Today’s clear exoneration by the Department of Justice affirms what Sen. Loeffler has said all along: She did nothing wrong,” said Stephen Lawson, a spokesperson for Loeffler. “This was a politically motivated attack shamelessly promoted by the fake news media and her political opponent.”
Loeffler previously said that she had handed over documents to the Justice Department, as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Senate Ethics Committee, after she sold millions in stocks in the days and weeks following a private all-senators briefing on the coronavirus.
She has insisted that the trades were done through a third-party adviser and vowed to liquidate her individual stock holdings to quell attacks from the right and left. She’s also recused herself from a Senate agriculture subcommittee.
Josh Gerstein contributed to this report.