To update you on the Sen. Richard Burr story from this morning, he told Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that he’s stepping down as Chairman of the Intelligence Committee:
McConnell: “Senator Burr contacted me this morning to inform me of his decision to step aside as Chairman of the Intelligence Committee during the pendency of the investigation. We agreed that this decision would be in the best interests of the committee“
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) May 14, 2020
The fact that the FBI obtained a warrant to search his cell phone and iCloud account would be a “distraction,” he said:
Richard Burr just spoke about stepping down as chair of Senate Intel.
Q: Why did you decide to make that decision?
Burr: This is a distraction to the hard work of the committee and the members and I think the security of the country is too important to have a distractions.
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) May 14, 2020
And in other news, Sen. Dianne Feinstein said she’s also cooperating with the FBI over stock sales her husband made:
JUST IN – Feinstein's office confirms she answered questions from FBI about her husband's stock trades, handed over documents – via @kasie @NBCNews
— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) May 14, 2020
When Politico’s Burgess Everett ask Sen. Kelly Loeffler if she’d been contacted by the FBI, she didn’t answer:
Asked if she’s had any contact with the FBI, Sen. Loeffler doesn’t answer
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) May 14, 2020
But her spox said she hadn’t been:
A spokesman for Dianne Feinstein says the FBI asked her “basic questions” in April about her husband's stock trades, and that she provided documents showing she had no involvement.
A spokeswoman for Kelly Loeffler said the FBI had not contacted her. https://t.co/rooGHkUoTn
— Zach Basu (@zacharybasu) May 14, 2020
According to the NYT, Sen. Burr is the “primary target” at the moment:
But Mr. Burr is the primary target of the investigation and his case is more advanced, according one of the investigators. Unlike other senators under scrutiny, Mr. Burr has not denied that he initiated the sales himself or that they were related to fears about the coronavirus. He has asked the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate.
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