When you’ve lost Tucker Carlson, it might be time to throw in the towel.
During his show on Thursday evening after news broke that Senate Intelligence Committee Richard Burr (R-NC) sold off a significant portion of his stock amid private coronavirus briefings, Carlson laid into the powerful Republican.
He called on Burr to share an “honest” explanation for what happened and if he didn’t have one, he suggested the lawmaker “resign from the Senate and face prosecution for insider trading.”
“There is no greater moral crime than betraying your country in a time of crisis, and that appears to be what happened,” he said.
Burr has since claimed that he dumped between $628,000 and $1.72 million of his holdings in February, based solely on publicly available news reports. Since news broke of Burr’s dealings, reports came out about another Republican, Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), selling million of dollars worth of stock not long after she sat in on closed-door Senate briefings on COVID-19. Loeffler also submitted a statement saying she isn’t responsible for the transactions; several third-party advisers make decisions about her and her husband’s investments without their knowledge.
There were other reports of other lawmakers making stock market decisions around the same time there were private briefings about the coronavirus, but Loeffler and Burr’s dealings appear to be the most shady. We’ll keep an eye on this unfolding scandal. Here’s more on that and other stories we’re following:
What The Breaking News Team Is Watching
There’s another coronavirus briefing this morning at 11:45 a.m. ET. We’ll be covering it in our liveblog.
On the COVID-19 front, Americans will likely be tasked with voluntarily self-quarantining for some time. During an interview with the “Today” show Friday morning, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), said Americans will likely be required to stay at home and avoid other people for at least “several weeks.” We’ll watch for what he says at today’s press conference.
The governor of California issued a new mandate late Thursday evening that requires all residents to stay at home except for “essential needs.” The move comes after a similar “shelter in place” directive was given to those in the Bay Area. If a person is caught violating the mandate they could face misdemeanor charges, the governor said.
Today’s Rundown
11:45 a.m. ET: The White House will hold another coronavirus task force briefing.
1:30 p.m. ET: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will have lunch with Trump
3:45 p.m. ET: Trump will have a call with small business owners about the COVID-19 response.
Yesterday’s Most Read Story
He Tested Negative For COVID. Two Days Later This Doc Was On A Ventilator. — Josh Kovensky
What We Are Reading
RuPaul Has a Fracking Empire on His Wyoming Ranch — Dhruv Mehrotra and Dharna Noor
The Stockpile of Food in My Garage — McKay Coppins
Can I Jog Outside? Is That Drinking Fountain Safe? Exercise in the Time of Coronavirus — Gretchen Reynolds