On March 19, 2020, National Public Radio broke the news of a series of suspicious stock trades by U.S. Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Health and Welfare Committee. On May 14, Burr resigned his chairmanship of the Intelligence Committee, following an FBI raid in which Burr’s cellphone and other records were seized.

Burr’s suspicious stock trades followed confidential briefings on the Coronavirus in the Senate Intelligence and Health Committees. According to the Wall Street Journal, Burr learned confidential, non-public information at a closed-door briefing on Jan. 24 to the Senate Health Committee by top federal public health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases.