GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler just handed over documents to federal authorities investigating alleged insider trading

• Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who is reportedly worth over $500 million, sold off stock just as she was being briefed on the looming threat of COVID-19 and before the stock market tanked due to the coronavirus.
• The senator "has forwarded documents and information" to federal investigators, a spokesperson told The Daily Beast, "establishing that she and her husband acted entirely appropriately and observed both the letter and the spirit of the law."
• The news comes after federal agents seized the phone of Sen. Richard Burr, who has also faced allegations of insider trading.
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The wealthiest member of Congress handed over documents Thursday to federal law enforcement authorities investigating allegations that she and other lawmakers engaged in insider trading, The Daily Beast reported.

Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Republican from Georgia, drew scrutiny following reports that she and her husband — the chairman of The New York Stock Exchange — sold off millions of dollars worth of shares and invested in a telecommunications software company after she was briefed on the threat of COVID-19, as Business Insider noted last month.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Loeffler said the senator is now cooperating with federal law enforcement, a day after agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation seized the phone of Sen. Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican who has also faced accusations of insider trading, which he denies.

Loeffler, reportedly worth over $500 million, "has forwarded documents and information" to the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Senate Ethics Committee, the spokesperson told The Daily Beast, "establishing that she and her husband acted entirely appropriately and observed both the letter and the spirit of the law."

"The documents and information demonstrated her and her husband's lack of involvement in their managed accounts, as well the details of those accounts. Senator Loeffler has welcomed and responded to any questions from day one," the spokesperson said.

After the allegations were initially made, the senator's office released a statement saying: "Sen. Loeffler does not make investment decisions for her portfolio. Investment decisions are made by multiple third-party advisors without her or her husband's knowledge or involvement. As confirmed in the periodic transaction report to Senate Ethics, Senator Loeffler was informed of these purchases and sales on February 16, 2020 — three weeks after they were made."

In an April 8 op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal, Loeffler insisted that she has "never used any confidential information I received while performing my Senate duties as means of making a private profit."

Appointed to her position by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, filling a seat left vacant by a retirement, Loeffler is up for election this fall, if she can beat back a primary challenger from her right.

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