Sen. Loeffler, NYSE CEO husband defend stock sales after her private coronavirus briefing

“Mr. Sprecher and Senator Loeffler have made clear that those transactions were executed by their financial advisors without Mr. Sprecher’s or Senator Loeffler’s input or direction,” the firm said. “Such transactions are in compliance with Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. policies and procedures.”

“These were not transactions in ICE securities, and any transactions by Mr. Sprecher or Senator Loeffler in ICE securities have been executed through a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan that was approved by Intercontinental Exchange,” the firm said.

“Per ICE policy, all trading plans require a 30-day cooling off period from the time the trading plan is adopted to the date of the first transaction.”

Loeffler reported in a disclosure filing this week a string of stock sales that began on Jan. 24, the same day her Senate committee hosted the closed-door briefing about the spread of the coronavirus by Trump administration officials. 

Over the next three weeks, Loeffler and Sprecher sold shares worth $1.25 million to $3.1 million, according to disclosure records.

But on Feb. 14, accounts owned by Loeffler and Sprecher bought stock in Citrix, which provides teleworking software, and in Oracle, the technology company. Many Americans have been working remotely from home as companies closed or reduced staff at their physical offices due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Loeffler’s transactions were first reported Thursday by The Daily Beast. Loeffler’s spokeswoman on Thursday called that story “a ridiculous and baseless attack.”

Despite the statements by Loeffler and Intercontinental Exchange, the controversy over the stock sales by her and the other senators is not likely to go away anytime soon.

The government advocacy group Common Cause said Friday it had filed complaints with the Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Senate Ethics Committee “calling for immediate investigations” of Loeffler, Burr, Feinstein and Inhofe “for possible violations of the STOCK Act and insider trading laws.

The STOCK Act bars members of Congress from using inside information from their official positions for private gain.

Common Cause said the trades by the senators as alleged involved “potentially criminal misconduct.”

“These Senators appear to have used classified intelligence briefings as stock tips and sold off significant holdings to avoid losses in the markets,” said Paul Ryan, Common Cause Vice President for Policy and Litigation.

“These laws are on the books for a good reason, without them the potential to abuse the power of elected office for personal enrichment would be virtually unlimited.”

The federal Securities and Exchange Commission had no immediate comment when contacted by CNBC.

Another group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington,  filed a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee asking for probes of  Loeffler and Burr for possible violations of the STOCK Act.

“The job of a U.S. Senator is to serve the American people,” said CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder.

“It appears that in a time of crisis, these senators chose instead to serve themselves, violating the public trust and abdicating their duty,” Bookbinder said. “They must be immediately investigated.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., called on Burr and Loeffler to resign, tweeting: “It is stomach-churning that the first thoughts these Senators had to a dire classified #COVID briefing was how to profit off this crisis.”

“They didn’t mobilize to help families, or prep response. They dumped stock,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote.

In a statement Friday, Burr said his decision to off-load his stock was based “solely on public news reports,” including those from CNBC’s Asia bureaus about the spread of coronavirus.

“Understanding the assumption many could make in hindsight however, I spoke this morning with the chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee and asked him to open a complete review of the matter with full transparency,” Burr said.

On Feb. 13, one week before U.S. stocks began sliding, Burr sold more than $500,000 worth of shares in a single day. The sales amounted to 33 individual transactions, and if they totaled the high end of the range that Burr reported, around $1.7 million, that would equal nearly all of his net worth.

Burr’s trades were first reported by ProPublica.

North Carolina’s other U.S. senator, Thom Tillis, who is also a Republican, said on Twitter that, “Given the circumstances, Senator Burr owes North Carolinians an explanation.”

“His self-referral to the Ethics Committee for their review is appropriate, there needs to be a professional and bipartisan inquiry into this matter, which the Ethics Committee can provide,” Tillis said.

– Additional reporting by Christina Wilkie.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/20/coronavirus-controversy-stock-exchange-owner-defends-sales-by-ceo-loeffler.html