FBI Seizes Sen. Burr’s Phone In DOJ’s Investigation Into His Fishy Stock Sales

[darrtown]

I am wondering what company his stock broker works/worked for.

[emiliano4]

In ninth grade, some wiseguys were telling teachers “they did it for the halibut”.

“…to the Office, Emiliano…”

[greenman66]

@john819

As a retired SEC enforcement attorney, the probable reason that Burr is in more hot water than Loeffler is that Burr called his broker directly, and forgot that all such calls are taped by the firm. So the seizure of the cell phone is just to confirm that he made the call to the broker, not someone else on his behalf.

Loeffler, on the other hand, had investment advisors do her trading. And as someone who was in the securities industry, she would have known how to cover her tracks. This would be a far more difficult case to prove.

So, basically Burr is an amateur crook and Loeffler is a pro.

[john819]

See Martha Stewart for an example of an amateur.

[jstrummer]

They’ll have a whale of a time doing that…

[longtimeobserver]

LOCK him UP!

[mattinpa]

@john819

the seizure of the cell phone is just to confirm that he made the call to the broker, not someone else on his behalf.

Loeffler, on the other hand, had investment advisors do her trading. And as someone who was in the securities industry, she would have known how to cover her tracks. This would be a far more difficult case to prove.

Excellent points, and you realize that’s basically how money laundering and other financial crime works. You put the dirty money through a few layers of legit-looking transactions and it’s just more work to prove where it came from than in some more blatant situation.

[cervantes]

@darrtown

I am wondering what company his stock broker works/worked for.

Why?

Anyway, I suppose one should note that Burr is not nearly as wealthy as other US senators – and he’s a lot less wealthy than Loeffler.

Had he not sold on February 13, his net worth would have plummeted.

[bonvivant]

@john819

See Martha Stewart for an example of an amateur.

Carl Icahn is an example of a pro.

[joriep]

@spin

My guess is that he picks a moderate businessperson or academic who is a registered republican but has a history of being bipartisan and is unlikely to run for reelection, or a former moderate republican mayor of someplace in their 70s,

I sincerely doubt he would pick any Republican, not with the Senate leadership hanging in the balance.

[rocklaverve]

@mondfledermaus

Kelly Loeffler violation was for even a larger amount

I can’t remember the details, but I think Loeffler’s situation offers some degree of plausible deniabilty. That might make a fuzzier case against her or at least make for a slower investigation. On the other hand,

@mondfledermaus

she is in a tight re-election race and has not lost a single opportunity to lick the dotard’s derriere.

[spin]

@joriep

sincerely doubt he would pick any Republican, not with the Senate leadership hanging in the balance.

North Carolina law REQUIRES him to pick a member of the departing members party. Now I guess he could go to Chappel Hill and find a liberal republican academic. But I think it is unlikely - particularly before November - that he does such a move. I guess it is possible that he does it after he is reelected.

[darrtown]

Why?
Just out of curiosity
And is that broker still employed would be the other interesting question.

[leftcoaster]

OT but this could cause a bit of heartburn in the Oval Office.

Josh "Cordon Sanitaire" Gerstein (joshgerstein)

[castor_troy]

But, Loeffler’s trades, both selling and buying, all worked to her benefit.

Think that will be key to her investigation. How she managed to bet on three specific companies, including a medical supply and some remote telework company… Depending on what was in their briefings, the specificity of her trades may do her in.

[davidn]

Political historian Heather Cox Richardson is very edifying:

So why Burr? Remember I mentioned that the Senate Intelligence Committee agreed with the Mueller investigation, and that It was due to release the final volume of its report soon? Burr is the chairman of that key committee. If he is discredited enough to lose his chairmanship, McConnell will get to choose his replacement. And it’s a pretty safe bet the committee will no longer support the conclusions of the Mueller Report.

But better to read the entire post for May 13th:

May 13, 2020

[jw1]

@ralph_vonholst

Why no warrants for Loeffler and Inhofe?

Trip a snare in some fashion?

[rocklaverve]

@kenga

Burr, while shifty with authoritarian tendencies, has been upholding the law

Then perhaps we should be following the metaphorical money: If Burr ends up out of the Senate, or stripped of his chairmanship, who would replace him?

[jmacaz]

I can’t wait to see the transcript of his texts with Lisa Page

[trnc]

An unnamed law enforcement official told the LA Times that investigators wanted to access Burr’s conversations with his stock broker.

I wonder what the chances are that there were also conversations with Mnuchin and Mulvaney on the same day as the stock broker.