Yahoo News Dream co-owner Sen. Kelly Loeffler, husband selling individual stocks after coroavirus trade scandal
U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) came under fire last month after allegations of insider trading arose amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now Loeffler, who is also a co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, is liquidating all individual stock shares she and her husband own together, she announced on social media and in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.
My husband & I are liquidating our holdings in managed accounts. I’m not doing this because I have to. I'm doing it to move beyond the distraction and put the focus back on the essential work we must all do to defeat the coronavirus. https://t.co/pdagq4E6Uf #gapol #gasen
— Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) April 8, 2020
“The truth, as I said when the accusations first surfaced, is that I have never used any confidential information I received while performing my Senate duties as a means of making a private profit,” Loeffler wrote in the Wall Street Journal. “Nor has anyone in my family.”
Loeffler was one of several U.S. senators who reportedly sold off millions of dollars of stock holdings shortly after a private senators briefing from administration officials on the coronavirus. Loeffler and her husband, Jeff Sprecher — whose company owns the New York Stock Exchange — have a fortune estimated at $500 million. Loeffler and her husband sold between $1.275 million and $3.1 million in stock in a series of transactions through mid-February.
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Loeffler strongly denied the allegations on social media at the time, calling it a “ridiculous and baseless attack” while saying that the moves were made without her knowledge by third-party advisors. Longtime Atlanta Dream star Angel McCoughtry stood by Loeffler earlier this month, too.
Despite her strong denials of wrongdoing, Loeffler — who was sworn into her seat in January after she was appointed to the position by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp — and her husband have still decided to sell off all individual stock shares.
“I’m not doing this because I have to,” Loeffler wrote in the Wall Street Journal. “I’ve done everything the right way and in compliance with Securities and Exchange Commission regulations, Senate ethics rules and U.S. law. I’m doing it because the issue isn’t worth the distraction. My family’s investment accounts are being used as weapons for an assault on my character at a time when we should all be focused on making our country safe and strong.
“Throughout this crisis I’ve been working hard to contribute legislative provisions that support essential medical devices, rural health care, telehealth, small businesses and Main Street employers. I will continue to focus on serving our country and the people of Georgia.”
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