The US Department of Justice is closing its investigation of stocks being sold prior to the coronavirus-induced market crash by Sens. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., after closed-door pandemic briefings, sources say. However, the DOJ is reportedly continuing its probe into the trading activity of Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C.

The US Department of Justice is closing its investigation of stocks being sold prior to the coronavirus-induced market crash by Senators Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., after attending a closed-door pandemic briefings, sources say. However, the DOJ is reportedly continuing its probe into the trading activity of Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C.

Modern Money Murmurs: The biggest surprise here is that the DOJ closed its investigation of Sen. Loeffler so quickly. She was not President Trump's choice when she was appointed to fill the vacant senate seat and is now in a close campaign to keep the seat. Considering that, it is seems the DOJ would have let the investigation hang over her head longer. As far as Sen. Burr goes, it stretches the imagination a bit to believe he made his Feb. 13 trades based solely on news reports when a committee he sits on got a detailed coronavirus briefing in late January.

Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., will temporarily leave his post as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, after the FBI seized his mobile phone while investigating stock trades he had made before the coronavirus pandemic triggered a market downturn. Burr has denied his trading was prompted by a private briefing on the coronavirus.

Despite saying Americans should not be overly concerned about the coronavirus, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, sold as much as $1.6 million in stocks in February, according to ProPublica. He appeared to reverse his position later, telling campaign contributors the coronavirus was a threat comparable to the 1918 Spanish flu, according to NPR.