美国参议员理查德·伯尔(北卡罗来纳州共和党)辞任参议院情报委员会(Senate Intelligence Committee)主席。有报道称,联邦部门对其涉嫌内幕交易的调查升级。
《洛杉矶时报》爆料称,美国联邦调查局(FBI)探员对伯尔的住所发出了搜查令,并查扣了他的手机。之后,伯尔在上周四上午临时辞去了情报委员会主席一职。他从2015年开始担任该职位。报道中还表示,FBI最近向苹果公司发出了调查令,希望获取伯尔iCloud的账号信息。
伯尔在声明中表示,“在本次调查有结果之前”他不再担任情报委员会主席。
他说:“情报委员会及其成员的工作极其重要,不容有任何闪失。我相信我的辞职是让委员会不受外部干扰,继续完成其重要工作的必要之举。”
FBI、司法部和证券交易委员会的代表均拒绝就此次调查置评。
伯尔和其他多位国会议员,涉嫌在今年早些时候,接触到参议院通报的与新型冠状病毒疫情的威胁有关的非公开信息后进行股票交易,因此正面临联邦政府的调查。根据2012年通过的《国会知情停止交易法》(STOCK Act)规定,国会议员不得使用其利用职务之便获取的非公开信息进行股票交易。
除了伯尔以外,参议员凯利·洛夫勒(乔治亚州共和党)也在接受调查,原因是她与丈夫(纽约证券交易所董事长杰弗里·斯普雷彻)在了解到参议员情报委员会通报的信息后进行了股票交易。虽然洛夫勒的代表没有回复置评请求,但她的一位发言人告诉《华盛顿邮报》,这位乔治亚州参议员“没有收到调查令”。
洛夫勒的办公室随后在周四晚些时候发表了一份声明称,她已经向司法部、证券交易委员会和参议院道德委员会提交了有关其持股情况的“文件和信息”。
声明中写道:“文件和信息证明[洛夫勒]与丈夫没有参与托管账户的交易,也不了解这些账户的具体信息。”
另外一位参议员戴安娜·范斯坦(加州民主党)的办公室证实,范斯坦接受了FBI的询问,并提交了与其丈夫、投资银行家理查德·布卢姆所进行的股票交易有关的文件。
范斯坦的发言人告诉《财富》杂志:“执法人员就参议员范斯坦的丈夫所进行的股票交易,向她提问了一些基本问题。她非常主动地回答了这些问题,以澄清事实,并提供了补充文件,证明她并未涉及丈夫的交易。在这个问题上没有任何后续行动。”
虽然洛夫勒和范斯坦都声称,对于配偶代表她们所做的股票交易毫不知情,但伯尔承认,2月初有数十笔股票交易都与他有关,价值高达170万美元,几周之后,随着疫情产生的经济代价日益明显,全球股市开始暴跌。此外,据ProPublica本月早些时候爆料,同一天,伯尔的连襟杰拉德·弗斯卖掉了价值28万美元的股票。
伯尔否认曾利用在职务中接触到的非公开信息进行股票交易。他声称自己“做出交易决定的唯一依据是公开的媒体报道”,并请求参议院“完全透明地”对自己进行道德调查。他也否认曾与连襟串通交易。
对伯尔和其他国会议员的调查,将是《国会知情停止交易法》迎来的最大考验。该法案自2012年通过以来一直很少使用。在该法案之前,国会议员实际上可免于接受证券交易委员会的内幕交易法管辖,该法案的目的就是堵住这个漏洞。
伯尔在参议院的任期将在2022年结束。在此次内幕交易争议之前,他一直表示自己不打算参加改选。(财富中文网)
更新:2020年5月14日:本文经过更新,增加了参议员洛夫勒、参议员范斯坦、FBI、司法部和证券交易委员会的评论。
译者:Biz
美国参议员理查德·伯尔(北卡罗来纳州共和党)辞任参议院情报委员会(Senate Intelligence Committee)主席。有报道称,联邦部门对其涉嫌内幕交易的调查升级。
《洛杉矶时报》爆料称,美国联邦调查局(FBI)探员对伯尔的住所发出了搜查令,并查扣了他的手机。之后,伯尔在上周四上午临时辞去了情报委员会主席一职。他从2015年开始担任该职位。报道中还表示,FBI最近向苹果公司发出了调查令,希望获取伯尔iCloud的账号信息。
伯尔在声明中表示,“在本次调查有结果之前”他不再担任情报委员会主席。
他说:“情报委员会及其成员的工作极其重要,不容有任何闪失。我相信我的辞职是让委员会不受外部干扰,继续完成其重要工作的必要之举。”
FBI、司法部和证券交易委员会的代表均拒绝就此次调查置评。
伯尔和其他多位国会议员,涉嫌在今年早些时候,接触到参议院通报的与新型冠状病毒疫情的威胁有关的非公开信息后进行股票交易,因此正面临联邦政府的调查。根据2012年通过的《国会知情停止交易法》(STOCK Act)规定,国会议员不得使用其利用职务之便获取的非公开信息进行股票交易。
除了伯尔以外,参议员凯利·洛夫勒(乔治亚州共和党)也在接受调查,原因是她与丈夫(纽约证券交易所董事长杰弗里·斯普雷彻)在了解到参议员情报委员会通报的信息后进行了股票交易。虽然洛夫勒的代表没有回复置评请求,但她的一位发言人告诉《华盛顿邮报》,这位乔治亚州参议员“没有收到调查令”。
洛夫勒的办公室随后在周四晚些时候发表了一份声明称,她已经向司法部、证券交易委员会和参议院道德委员会提交了有关其持股情况的“文件和信息”。
声明中写道:“文件和信息证明[洛夫勒]与丈夫没有参与托管账户的交易,也不了解这些账户的具体信息。”
另外一位参议员戴安娜·范斯坦(加州民主党)的办公室证实,范斯坦接受了FBI的询问,并提交了与其丈夫、投资银行家理查德·布卢姆所进行的股票交易有关的文件。
范斯坦的发言人告诉《财富》杂志:“执法人员就参议员范斯坦的丈夫所进行的股票交易,向她提问了一些基本问题。她非常主动地回答了这些问题,以澄清事实,并提供了补充文件,证明她并未涉及丈夫的交易。在这个问题上没有任何后续行动。”
虽然洛夫勒和范斯坦都声称,对于配偶代表她们所做的股票交易毫不知情,但伯尔承认,2月初有数十笔股票交易都与他有关,价值高达170万美元,几周之后,随着疫情产生的经济代价日益明显,全球股市开始暴跌。此外,据ProPublica本月早些时候爆料,同一天,伯尔的连襟杰拉德·弗斯卖掉了价值28万美元的股票。
伯尔否认曾利用在职务中接触到的非公开信息进行股票交易。他声称自己“做出交易决定的唯一依据是公开的媒体报道”,并请求参议院“完全透明地”对自己进行道德调查。他也否认曾与连襟串通交易。
对伯尔和其他国会议员的调查,将是《国会知情停止交易法》迎来的最大考验。该法案自2012年通过以来一直很少使用。在该法案之前,国会议员实际上可免于接受证券交易委员会的内幕交易法管辖,该法案的目的就是堵住这个漏洞。
伯尔在参议院的任期将在2022年结束。在此次内幕交易争议之前,他一直表示自己不打算参加改选。(财富中文网)
更新:2020年5月14日:本文经过更新,增加了参议员洛夫勒、参议员范斯坦、FBI、司法部和证券交易委员会的评论。
译者:Biz
Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) has stepped down as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee amid reports that federal authorities have escalated an investigation into alleged insider trading.
Burr temporarily resigned from his chairmanship, which he’s held since 2015, on Thursday morning after the Los Angeles Times reported that FBI agents had executed a search warrant on his residence and seized his cell phone. The publication also reported that the FBI had recently served a warrant on Apple in order to obtain information from Burr’s iCloud account.
In a statement, Burr said he would step aside as committee chair "until this investigation is resolved."
"The work the Intelligence Committee and its members do is too important to risk hindering in any way," he said. "I believe this step is necessary to allow the committee to continue its essential work free of external distractions.”
Representatives for the FBI, Department of Justice, and Securities and Exchange Commission all declined to comment on the investigation.
Burr is among several members of Congress who have faced scrutiny for stock trades executed in the wake of private Senate briefings earlier this year on the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Under the STOCK Act of 2012, members of Congress are prohibited from using nonpublic information gained through their positions to trade stocks.
In addition to Burr, Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.)—who is married to New York Stock Exchange chairman Jeffrey Sprecher—has also drawn scrutiny for stock trades made by her and her husband in the wake of Senate committee briefings. While representatives for Loeffler did not return a request for comment, a spokesperson for Loeffler told the Washington Post that “no search warrant has been served” on the Georgia senator.
Loeffler's office subsequently released a statement late Thursday revealing that she had provided “documents and information” on her stock holdings to the Department of Justice, SEC, and Senate Ethics Committee.
“The documents and information demonstrated [Loeffler] and her husband's lack of involvement in their managed accounts, as well as the details of those accounts,” Loeffler's office said.
Likewise, a spokesperson for Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) confirmed reports that Feinstein had been questioned by the FBI and turned over documents relating to stock trades made by her husband, investment banker Richard Blum.
“Senator Feinstein was asked some basic questions by law enforcement about her husband’s stock transactions,” the Feinstein spokesperson told Fortune. “She was happy to voluntarily answer those questions to set the record straight and provided additional documents to show she had no involvement in her husband’s transactions. There have been no follow up actions on this issue.”
Whereas Loeffler and Feinstein claim to have had no knowledge of stock trades made on their behalf or by their spouses, Burr has acknowledged that he was behind dozens of transactions worth up to $1.7 million in early February—several weeks before markets globally went into free fall as the pandemic’s economic toll became clear. Additionally, Burr’s brother-in-law, Gerald Fauth, sold up to $280,000 worth of stocks on the same day as Burr, ProPublica reported earlier this month.
Burr has denied that he used nonpublic information gained through his position to inform his stock trades, claiming he “relied solely on public news reports to guide my decision” and calling for a Senate ethics investigation in the interest of “full transparency.” He has also denied coordinating trades with his brother-in-law.
The investigation into Burr, and potentially other members of Congress, is the biggest test yet for the STOCK Act, which has been deployed sparingly since its passage in 2012. The bill sought to close a loophole that effectively exempted members of Congress from SEC insider trading laws.
Burr’s current term in the Senate expires in 2022. Prior to the insider trading controversy, he had indicated that he does not plan to seek reelection.
Update, May 14, 2020: This article has been updated to include comment from representatives for Sen. Loeffler, Sen. Feinstein, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the SEC.