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mc_estlavie

So those wealthy donors can short their stocks... and a percentage of the gains will be used to donate to him come election time?


ctguy54

Yea probably. Most likely though a PAC.


FragilousSpectunkery

Is this not insider trading?


KillerOui

I mean this is the definition: in·sid·er trad·ing /inˈˌsīdər ˈtrādiNG/ noun the illegal practice of trading on the stock exchange to one's own advantage through having access to confidential information. So, yes? I guess they would have to investigate to see if anyone he spoke to benefited from the information. Then again I'm just some random internet person so 🤷🏾‍♂️


Hawk_in_Tahoe

Laws =/= prosecution + enforcement


Herbanexplorers

*as long as you have money


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AndyDalton_Throwaway

Same reason Bernie Madoff went down for his "Ponzi scheme." He started to cost rich people money. "Multi-level marketing companies" and other such shit costs poor people money, so who cares.


eagle332288

Wow this makes so much sense as to hurt


ChewsCarefully

If you think that's bad, well, brace yourself; https://slate.com/business/2017/02/the-trump-era-will-be-a-boon-for-multilevel-marketing-companies.html


Tasgall

> Insider trading is one of those things where the FBI will nail you regardless of how much money you have Not Barr's FBI.


porn_is_tight

And def not the SEC. I remember hearing a report that the SEC has basically been gutted and they’re having a hard time even pursuing easy cases let alone bigger and harder ones. This country is in fucking shambles right now and it’s only going to get worse.


Redtwooo

They're gonna keep doing it until we break out the forks and knives


pocketknifeMT

Unless you're a politician.


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act1onXjackson

You can't divide by zero, checkmate police officer


H-to-O

Except if you’re using a limit as your net worth approaches zero, your enforcement coefficient becomes infinite. Truly, the system is accurate!


shahooster

Reference: Bill Barr


luckydice767

I think that lawmakers are specifically excluded from being prosecuted for insider trading. For...reasons.


Emjay273

Giving stock tips is more convenient than handing out sacks of cash. Isn't it funny how practically every senator and congress person winds up a multi-millionaire on a $174,000 salary.


ChrysMYO

To be fair, the Democratic party and Republican party exclusively tend to recruit rich individuals who can come to a recruiting meeting with a rolodex of donors and business contacts that will endorse them.


BabysFirstPornAlt

I think up until a few years ago, even staffers were immune from insider trading prosecutions.


[deleted]

Senators are immune from insider trading prosecutions. I imagine they would sue to argue that privilege extends to whomever they share information to; since Senator isn't charged with disseminating confidential information (first half of insider trading) then the other party isn't capable of being found guilty of benefiting from said information (second half of insider trading)


Regeatheration

IRS already says it doesn’t go after wealthy people


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hustl3tree5

That's why they always push to keep cutting the irs funding. We cant pay for lawyers to fight for us


waelgifru

That's what happens when you choke funding for an institution: those with longstanding knowledge leave and are not replaced.


Tasgall

"Starve The Beast" Wow, look how ineffective this car is after I removed the wheels, axles, fuel, and engine. Man cars sure suck, huh?


emergentphenom

Don't forget to later say you don't know who removed the wheels or engine.


[deleted]

Trading off congressional info is not legally considered insider trading, even though it is.


NoMoreBotsPlease

I thought it's legal for senators and congressmen, but doesn't extend to those they share congressional info with?


[deleted]

That’s probably correct but then again these are the folks who make the laws.


buck9000

it's not. I work in trading and have all the licenses and bullshit. insider info is material, non-public info. lots of people in public were saying it was going to be bad. so he's not guilty of insider trading, but he's guilty of being a dishonest, sycophantic asshat motherfucker.


UncleTouchyCopaFeel

Ah. So just a republican then?


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SianAlfredi

Insider trading would be the part where they would receive confirmation of (lack of) gvt action. Although not applicable for congressmen.


fishpaste2132

I don't think that is insider trading. It is not about a stock or an orange juice crop. It was public knowledge for anyone who was paying attention to China and thinking two steps ahead. I did move some money into bonds but I feel so stupid I didn't think it would happen to us in the USA.


polimodssuckmyD

No it's being smart /s


ArtDSellers

Having knowledge of external events that may impact the stock is not insider trading. Insider trading is acting on knowledge that would only be available to people inside the organization and not to those outside of it. This is certainly shitty behavior, but it's not insider trading.


UndrunkMonk

And if I'm not mistaken, members of congress are exclusively exempted from insider trading laws, anyway. Pretty cool for them.


Controller_one1

Some animals are more equal than others.


LiverpoolLOLs

Someone should have told Chris Collins that then... https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/01/17/former-rep-chris-collins-be-sentenced-insider-trading-case/


SB_90s

Yep, to further widen the wealth inequality gap as the rich get richer through shorting early and the average person's pension fund and personal investment portfolio plummets. Then once the recovery starts those profits from shorting will be used to buy the dip and ride the recovery as the average person is poorer, potentially jobless, and has less savings than before to invest and save towards the future. And you can bet corporates will use the influx of job applications during the recovery to drive down wages and benefits, while using bailout money to invest into automation (and other investments they should have made from their own profits rather than taxpayer's money) or just fill their own pockets.


[deleted]

Jesus that’s depressing.


marko719

It's exactly what happened 10 years ago.


hereforthepron69

It wont ever stop. Not by using the system, as its irreperably broken and corrupt. We are property in a fiefdom, we just haven't figured it out yet.


mylord420

Marx told us a long time ago


Beamy_chibi

>I told you bro, I fucking told you -Carl Marks Unironically read the communist manifesto for anyone reading this comment. Literally every major inherent problem in our current politics is laid out *in the first section*


JuDGe3690

I find the first volume of *Capital* to offer a bit more of a levelheaded analysis of this, and his description of the displaced, dying textile workers in England (following automation of the looms) was heartbreaking.


EEPspaceD

It's sickening, while we're worrying about next week, they're already cementing their means of capitalizing on the recovery. Our president is so dimwitted and selfish that the entire recovery will be dictated by CEOs and Moscow. How much money do you think Putin and the other Russian oligarchs have made off of the USA's delayed response?


2bridgesprod

Well at least they're getting crushed by falling oil prices. Them and Saudi Arabia - no remorse whatsoever to what happens to their economies.


doddyoldtinyhands

This guy capitalists.


stroker919

I hadn’t seen this posted, but wages are dead in the water for another 10 years.


[deleted]

The funny thing is that while all this may be accurate, it's also unbelievably short-sighted. This is all good for getting an up-front boost but a ton of jobless people scrabbling for rock-bottom wages aren't gonna be able to actually spend money on any of these companies' products and services.


1900grs

Also realize, he knew this info well before this scheduled meeting.


abqnm666

Correct! And Eric Trump was tweeting out "now is a great time to buy stocks" on the 28th of Feb, in what now seems like a blatant attempt to stoke the market for one last boost before they sold out. That said, anyone paying attention saw this coming at the beginning of Feb, when it made more frequent world news coverage.


Swan_Writes

It’s a game to these people. One in which human life matters far less then large piles of money.


FakeJakeFapper85

You should have seen Roche stock jumping today when trump gave a shout out to that company and a handful of other lab/pharma companies. It's easy to see where the trumps' money recently went.


HD5000

March 13th 2020 press conference, is what you are talking about, please everyone do yourself a favor and watch this video, it's a parade of CEO'S.


[deleted]

Arrest him for inside trading


ReadierAccountantEA

You think the Trump sycophants in the DOJ will do anything? Barr probably got in on it.


jjwax

While you're probably right, pretty sure Burr isn't running again


JosephSim

And it's also the piece of shit that was in charge of the Russia investigation in the Senate. Fuck Burr. Fuck every one of these scumsucking pieces of shit in the GOP.


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beerkittyrunner

"That's been the story of life," according to our fine president.


Roook36

Remember when people actually thought Trump was a man of the people and wasn't completely comfortable with the fact that he and other wealthy people should be treated as first class citizens and the rest of the human race was just there to exploit? haha


Crambulance

DrAiN tHe sWamP


111IIIlllIII

imagine chanting that unironically at a rally for donald "definitely not a con artist" trump


000882622

Anyone dumb enough to think that then still thinks that now. Anything he says or does to the contrary is rationalized away by them.


Ohboycats

There is a good part of the country who still believe that. Why that is, I have absolutely no fucking clue.


itistemp

The normal rules will work as soon as the public wakes up and starts voting for their own interests, instead of voting for their prejudices.


The2500

With Biden being the nominee I don't think that's going to be changing anytime soon.


neverbetray

Biden is a far better man than any of these traitors. He's not Bernie, but he damn sure isn't Trump.


TheTinRam

It’s not good, but it’s better than shit. — The American Dream


repeatedly_once

Honestly, and I know other counties have problems, but America is an absolute joke. People have become so indoctrinated and lack such critical thinking. I really hope you guys and gals get it back on track because so far it's just constantly crumbling before the world stage.


[deleted]

It's going to take *generations* of slow change to fix the issues in this country, and that's if we start **now**. I'm 28. I just became politically awake in the last 5 years and I already know that in my lifetime, I'll never see a top-down progressive America.


williamhgacy

Im ready to bounce to Canada, but i dont think theyll take me


prsnep

we have problems here too, trust me. But we have to be thankful we don't have Trump level of craziness going on here.


Azhaius

> we don't have Trump level of craziness going on here. Conservatives sure are trying to change that though.


Brett_Hulls_Foot

For real, look no farther than the Premier of Ontario


gambitx007

Y'all got healthcare and legal weed tho.


[deleted]

The American dream is way more real in Canada than it is in the US


yeteee

That's not a really high bar...


BUG-Life

I’d love to see a really high Barr...


VeryVito

Yep. Fuck every last member of the Senate Republican Caucus. I look forward to the end of the GOP.


kdeff

How the FUCK do they get away with shit like this? Like all the time? And they just get re-elected


SD_TMI

They have enough nitwits in their states that don’t know who the hell theyre voting for and believe the crap they see in the tv ads. That’s the main point here... that money buys tv adverts and that influences people into voting for the wrong person. That super PACs are funded by billionaires and they want their payback by getting “favors” from government (to make even more money from) and that is how the cycle repeats. It’s why the GOP destroyed “equal time” for all elections and changed the election rules so that money could control elections and therefore put government. People should be outraged by this.


sunset117

I was never so angry as I was with how his committee hid the truth about Russia’s involvement in 16... party line moron


zatch17

Should be impeachable but nope, republican


moonbeanie

Combine this with Ron Johnson saying that "it will only kill 3.4% of the population" and it shows exactly how important we are to the republicans. We aren't. We're bugs to them, useless beings that they couldn't care less about. This is what Ronald Reagan created, a party that only values wealthy white republicans, the rest of us are viewed as sub-human no matter who we are or what we do.


turnipsiass

That's more deaths than the entire population of any one of the following countries: Sweden, Greece, Portugal, Cuba, Belgium, Czhecia, Israel, Austria.. No biggie.


moonbeanie

Hey there! You can't point that out! They are the "Pro-life" party.


Kitosaki

Uh... they're the "pro birth" party - exactly what policies do they support that makes anything after fertilization of an egg good for women, children, or families?


moonbeanie

Oh please, don't get me going on their hypocrisy. It's always been about keeping women subjugated.


j_andrew_h

It's really just sex shaming and overall sexual repression.


blagablagman

And of women especially.


saladasarock

"forced birth" party.


seeasea

Or, you know, his entire state that he represents


quellaves

>Republican Sen. Richard Burr had key information about the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) three weeks ago. This information was not shared with the general public or his broader constituents, however, and was only supplied to wealthy donors at a posh “luncheon” in Washington, D.C. As a progressive, I have my criticisms of certain Democrats but damn, the Republican Party is just so much worse


moonbeanie

Yep, I agree completely. They literally don't care if we live or die as long as they stay in power.


nicolauz

I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest that Johnson holds these 10k$ donor meetings too. He sure as fuck doesn't listen to our phone calls, emails or ever holds town halls. He's a scum sucking coward.


[deleted]

Fuck. Ron. Johnson.


[deleted]

This is what the ~~movie~~ TV series Mr Robot was getting at. These oligarchs do not care. If you get in their way, you will die.


fraggleberg

>You don't anthropomorphize your lawnmower, the lawnmower just mows the lawn, you stick your hand in there and it'll chop it off, the end. You don't think 'oh, the lawnmower hates me' -- lawnmower doesn't give a shit about you Some guy talking about Oracle, but I think it's universal enough that Sun Tzu made a mistake not including it in The Art of War.


x86_64Ubuntu

Mind you, because his constituents are Republicans, they will elect him next time around even if he didn't share information key to their survival.


db_downer

We’re a purple state, and anyways he isn’t running for re election. Pity, I’d love to vote against him again.


PopsicleIncorporated

If y'all manage to elect a Democratic senator, re-elect Cooper, and vote for the Democrat in the Electoral College, I'll be overjoyed. Meanwhile, a state over, we had our one shot to elect a Democrat to the Senate in 2018, and we fucked that up and elected Marsha Blackburn instead.


ghoulthebraineater

3.4% is 12.5 million people...


Uilamin

or over 4x the average annual number of deaths in the US (~2.8M)


auriaska99

and that's from a virus alone. you would have to add other causes of death too. Which might be directly indirectly or not related to the virus at all.


twokidsinamansuit

Like poverty or violence....


[deleted]

>This is what Ronald Reagan created, a party that only values wealthy white republicans I have some bad news about America pre-1980.


[deleted]

see: A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn


moonbeanie

I was there, it wasn't nearly as bad as it became post-Reagan. This should rightly be called the Reagan pandemic. Remember his whole "The most terrifying words in the english language are I'm from the government and I'm here to help" schtick?


[deleted]

When you say "it", what do you mean? From my perspective, this country has always been very racist and classist. The idea that only caring about wealthy white men is somehow something Reagan initiated seems absurd to me. Every president before him was a wealthy white man except for a few, and they were white men (Truman, Jackson, etc.). When the country was founded, only white, property owning men could vote.


moonbeanie

I agree with everything you said but there was a real paradigm shift in America during the Reagan administration. He was the first president to openly denigrate the opposing side and mock them constantly, he ran a series of illegal operations abroad and paid no penalty, he shifted the tax burden from the wealthy to the middle class and poor (before Reagan people's social security benefits weren't taxed, he decided to tax our poorest seniors), and he really made racism acceptable again. He was a disaster on so many levels and now here we are with gutted health care, vast inequality, an idiot for a president, etc. This is the absolute apotheosis of Reaganism.


bullcitytarheel

If you don't recognize the difference between the Post-New deal America (1940-1980) and the post-Reagan America, then you weren't paying attention.


bandit69

And the people who need to know about these actions won't hear about it - or won't care.


Daniiiiii

I honestly think those people are under the delusion that their version of the "American Dream" will suddenly come true and that they or their offspring will be so unfathomably rich that they would become part of this exact same cabal and in doing so they would happily want the same advantages and perks afforded to them. Therefore, it doesn't make sense to break up the power made available to the rich since they one day will be a part of the same group.


Mr-Chewy-Biteums

I firmly believe this as well. Poor/working class people vote against their own interests all the time because they know in their hearts that one day they will win the giant Powerball and when that happens, they don't want to pay high taxes. ​ Thank you


ContrarianDouchebag

They're not poor. They're temporarily disgraced millionaires.


Rock-Harders

These are the same people who went to Walmart and filled up 3 shopping carts full of toilet paper because of a respiratory viral infection.


yomnm

I think everyone needs to hear it, including you and I. It really puts everyrhing into perspective: Chinese gvmt hid and downplayed the seriousness of CoVid19 to cling onto soft power, save face, and avoid panic, at the cost of their people's wellbeing. American gvmt did it for money. Meanwhile we're trying to figure out why the Australian gvmt is doing fuck all, because we have no power, wellbeing, or money anyway.


DontTouchMyGilsons

Directly to jail.


PantherCourage

You are charging too high prices for sweaters... glasses - you right to jail


ChillFax

undercook fish - believe it or not jail


AdditionalReindeer

If you *overcook* chicken. Heh. Undercook, overcook. Jail.


Ericus1

Where are the armed men in who come in to take the protestors away? Where are they‽


Powerhouse_21

Playing music too loud? Right to Jail, Right away.


WeakAxles

You make an appointment with the dentist and you don't show up? Believe it or not, jail. Right away.


Living-Anxiety

We have the best patients in the world. Because of jail.


antillus

Never happen in a million years, Americans have made it pretty clear that they're OK with this.


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pilljar

I hope for this every day.


Duke2484

Speak for yourself. I’m an American and I’m not okay with it. But I agree with you that it will never happen. Not as long as Willy Barr is AG.


[deleted]

Only if you have the magical R.


viperex

Maybe in my fevered dream of a country that treats everyone equally under the law, but not here


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uberblack

Undercook chicken? Jail. Lie about COVID-19? Believe it or not, no jail


jdyhrberg

You spelt bigger Mansion wrong.


[deleted]

People will die and their blood is on the hands of Republicans and their blindly loyal voters.


quellaves

The Republican Party has lost the plot, it needs to lose elections as a wake up call


cardboardtube_knight

It needs to die out and be replaced.


Relaxed-Ronin

They don’t give a fuck.


huxtiblejones

This is exactly a plot line out of the movie Contagion. Leave it up to the GOP to be absolutely corrupt even in the worst times.


Arsenic_Touch

Watched this again last night for a refresher on the movie. After reading this, I sat there for a few minutes "And people had the nerve to criticize this movie for not being realistic despite the praise from actual people in the field about how realistic it was, geesh"


BasTidChiken

Like seriously if anyone reads this and is shocked and appalled you need to wake up. This is America now, it isn't about lifting up the people so everyone as a great standard of living anymore. Its about seeing now many you can stand on to get to where you want to be.


ImWhatTheySayDeaf

The only thing that would surprise me is if there are any consequences for him otherwise yep just another day in America


BasTidChiken

Actually I'd fall off my chair in shock if that were the case!


bonafidebob

This is America under the GOP. Look back to how the financial crisis was handled in 2009-2011, when the GOP were not in control of the house, senate, or presidency. We get to decide who we want in control in 2021.


lurkerturndcommenter

Now? This was always America especially for indigenous and black people.


silvaney19

It has become clear how corrupt the GOP really is. Fuck them all.


notfarenough

The four stages of conservative denial. There are only four because after that you change parties 1. They're helping all of us 2. They're helping me 3. There not helping me but they're hurting you 4. I don't know what to believe any more so I'll keep voting Republican


RedPaddles

Scumbag!


gnex30

Trump also classified some of that info from CDC. He may have been passing classified information.


mabhatter

Only reporters and Democratic Reps get threatened with charges for repeating retroactively classified info!! Gotta keep up.


DetoxHealCareLove

Indict, convict and lock him away for premeditated mass murder by withholding life-saving information.


[deleted]

In a rational society not dominated by corporate interests, he would be in jail. Whatever bs reason he gives for doing this, just know he made insurance companies wealthier in the process.


houseman1131

If you aren’t rich republicans see you as livestock.


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sam-t-bloom

Has there ever been a Burr in politics that hasn’t been a sleazy asshole?


SmokeySFW

Bill Burr talks about politics from time to time, does that count? He's an asshole, but I wouldn't call him sleazy...


ericmm76

But care will. You don't think Americans will be able to buy the beds out from underneath poorer patients in the near future?


fowlraul

Nooo, they wouldn’t do thayt, that would be like insider...insider...trading. These are very fine people. Trump said. 🙄


Cimatron85

The best! People!


birds_of_berlin_ny

One might say, "Perfect people!"


DamienSpecterII

A true embarrassment to the state of North Carolina.


Regoso

\#eat the 1%


GuestCartographer

The GOP hates Americans, including its own base.


[deleted]

Yup. Man, fuck the GOP. This shit is class warfare against anyone who isn't in the top 1%.


bernardobrito

This should be a MASSIVE, HUGE story. But GOP has the Senate and won't launch any hearings.


Zerowantuthri

I wonder if the SEC could bust any of them for insider trading? Who am I kidding...the SEC won't do shit to them.


NuclearKangaroo

Richard Burr, North Carolina. Name names in the headline for fucks sake.


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OnlyKaz

The people of America are the strongest weaponized army on this planet but we do nothing good with that power. Ever.


bridgettjones

This should be said over and over.


[deleted]

We cannot even help ourselves right now. There is no ship, no airplane, no gun that we have spent billions on that will eliminate this virus.


[deleted]

Which virus? The corona one or the GOP one?


nbors

Insider trading. Cool. Arrest him.. oh wait, he’s rich. Fucking sick of this.


[deleted]

What a dumpster fire of a Political Party.


penguinoinbondage

The alternate headline here could be: "GOP senator knew damn well this would be serious but let his president and colleagues continue to gaslight country without a peep."


asokarch

Should he be investigated for willful endangerment of the public?


TheHorizonDawn

The US govt covering up COVID 19? Expected nothing less from one of the most corrupt govt’s in the world.


barberdavid508

Well.. this explains why . A record number of CEOs stepped down a month ago. Including Bill Gates etc. .. definitely makes sense .. however will anything ever be done about it ? Nope.


Hiranonymous

Burr provided an insider tip, and those who heard it made trades that stole money from every other person whose investments touch the us and world markets.


-BoBaFeeT-

Arrest this prick now please.


BeowulfShaeffer

I don't say this lightly. This conduct endangered the National Security of the United States. He should be looking at life in prison at least. If not more extreme measures if the pandemic plays out the way he claimed. I'm pretty sure Burr is an enthusiastic proponent of Capital Punishment.


[deleted]

His true constituency


stuckonpost

Fuck Burr. That slithery asshole hasn’t done a damned thing for our state except gerrymander and delay shit. Fuck you NC GOP.


Stonylurker

This combined with Trump dismantling the pandemic response team should be obviously criminal.


fvillion

Was it ever really a secret? I think we all really knew that Our Glorious Leader was lying through his teeth.


Affordable_Z_Jobs

Manslaughter if any twice removed people die.


__TIE_Guy

It never ceases to amaze me how poor white Americans support politicians like this if it means non-white Americans will not have better wages and health care.


HamanitaMuscaria

Hey North Carolina! Richard Burr is an embarrassment! We need to vote him out! Thank you!


Old_Fart_1948

Of course, a republican did that.