Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) said in a statement Wednesday that she and her husband Jeffrey Sprecher have decided to liquidate their individual stock shares after coming under fire for selling off millions of dollars in stock amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement shared with TPM, Loeffler denied profiting or attempting to profit at any time during her Senate term, and claimed that the accusations were baselessly manufactured by a left-wing website.
Loeffler wrote that she and her husband are liquidating all individual stock and options holdings in light of “the temptation to circulate lies and misinformation” during the pandemic.
“Let me be clear: I do not have to do this. I’ve done everything at or above the requirements for complying with the STOCK Act, SEC regulations, Senate Ethics rules, and US law, and of course, will continue to do so,” Loeffler wrote, before arguing that her “transparency is being abused for political gain.”
Read Loeffler’s full statement below:
I have not profited or attempted to profit at any time based on my service in the Senate. This story was manufactured by a left-wing website, never fact checked and used as a weapon by the media and my political opponents as a baseless attack. There is no truth to any of it.
Our family’s investments have long been managed by outside investment advisors at Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Sepio Capital, and Wells Fargo. They make their investment decisions for our accounts, including buying and selling securities like stocks and options —without our input, direction or knowledge.
For my over-20-year career in the financial services industry—as well as since I’ve been in the Senate—I have done everything according to the spirit and the letter of the law, and have been recognized for my integrity, professionalism and hard work.
Amid this health crisis, the temptation to circulate lies and misinformation is too great for the media and my political opponents. That is why I’m taking steps to remove this temptation so that we can turn our focus back to where it belongs: on combating COVID-19 and restoring our country to health and economic recovery.
All of the individual stock and options holdings in these managed accounts will be liquidated by the investment managers and the proceeds will be reinvested into ETFs and mutual funds.
Let me be clear: I do not have to do this. I’ve done everything at or above the requirements for complying with the STOCK Act, SEC regulations, Senate Ethics rules, and US law, and of course, will continue to do so.
I’m doing this because this transparency is being abused for political gain, and the steps I’ve taken to distance myself from these accounts are being ignored. I left the private sector to serve the people of Georgia, not make a profit, and in fact donate my Senate pay to Georgia charities.
I believe Georgians can see with my results in just three months in the Senate that my focus is on delivering results for them, and delivering relief for those impacted by COVID-19. As an outsider, I came to get results and I won’t let politics get in the way of public service and keeping our state and our country strong.
If you don’t have to do it, why are you doing it? If an investigation will show that you did nothing wrong, then there’s no reason for these drastic measures.
Shame on you
Panic sell-everything exit the market move and trying to use it as “See? All better now.”
She must have received some insider info that COVID-19 deaths are about to skyrocket and the market will drop another 30%.
Now, this is gallows humor at its finest. And also very possibly true.