WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court indicated Wednesday it may overturn a judge’s ruling that blocked the public’s access to a search warrant for Sen. Richard Burr’s cellphone, which was part of an investigation into his stock trades.
All three judges on the appellate panel in Washington were critical of a District Court judge’s ruling in May that rejected a request by the Times to review the sealed warrant and affidavit that prosecutors used to justify obtaining the senator’s phone.
Federal agents and prosecutors at the time were investigating whether Burr, a North Carolina Republican, illegally used information from congressional briefings about the coronavirus to sell $1.65 million in stock before the pandemic hit. Burr’s lawyers announced in January 2021 that the Justice Department had notified them it would not bring charges.
