WASHINGTON — Former Sen. Richard Burr announced Friday that an insider trading investigation about a $1.6 million stock sale before the COVID-19 pandemic ended without action against him.
“This week, the SEC informed me that they have concluded their investigation with no action,” Burr said in a written statement sent to McClatchy. “I am glad to have this matter in the rearview mirror as I begin my retirement from the Senate following nearly three decades of public service.”
Burr, 67, a Republican from Winston-Salem, spent his last day in office at the Capitol Tuesday watching his successor Sen. Ted Budd get sworn in. Burr said in 2016 he would retire from the Senate and not seek reelection.
The Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into Burr and several of his family members has been going on since 2020. Court documents revealed that investigators were looking into whether Burr, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law may have sold off stocks based on confidential information Burr received about the pandemic in February 2020.
The investigation forced Burr to step down as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission had parallel investigations into potential insider trading, but DOJ already announced an end to its investigation without charging Burr.
“Senator Burr is pleased that the US Securities and Exchange Commission, as did the U.S. Department of Justice, conducted a thorough review and closed their investigation with no action,” said Alice Fisher, Burr’s attorney from Latham & Watkins. “We have believed all along that this is the right result. He is glad to put this matter behind him as he embarks on his retirement from his dedicated service in the Senate.”
———
