FBI seizes Senator Burr's phone in probe of stock trades: reports

Federal agents served a warrant at the home of Republican Senator Richard Burr, according to the L.A.

Times.

This report produced by Zachary Goelman.

The FBI has reportedly seized the cellphone belonging to the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

L.A.

Times on Wednesday reported Senator Richard Burr turned over his phone to agents after they served a search warrant on him at his Washington home.

The paper cited an unnamed official who stated Burr is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of a probe into stock transactions made ahead of a sharp selloff trigged by fears over the coronavirus in March.

A spokesperson for Burr declined to comment to the Times.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the report.

CBS News reported Burr and his wife sold between $600,000 and $1.7 million in stocks from late January through mid-February.

They sold shares in companies that own hotels, a sector hammered by the outbreak.

Before he sold the stocks, Burr and other senators had received periodic briefings from U.S. health officials about the coronavirus.

The timing of the sales raised questions about whether Burr knew more about the potential risks of the crisis than he told the public.

In early February, Burr co-authored an opinion piece meant to reassure Americans the nation was prepared to confront the coronavirus.

A week later, public disclosures show he sold more stock in a single day than he had in 14 months.

And two weeks after that, audio obtained by National Public Radio captured Burr sharing dire warnings about the coronavirus at an invitation-only event.

Burr has denied any wrongdoing and said he relied solely on news reports to guide decisions on stock sales.