DOJ reportedly closes insider trading investigations into 3 senators

Insider trading investigations into three senators have reportedly been closed by the Justice Department.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that investigations into Sens. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and James Inhofe (R-Okla.), are being closed, although a probe of Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) remains open.

The senators came under scrutiny following reports that they sold stock holdings earlier this year after receiving briefings about the coronavirus, shortly before markets took a dive as the pandemic accelerated. Loeffler, Feinstein, and Inhofe said they weren't involved in making the stock trades, though the Journal notes Burr had a "more direct involvement in his trades."

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Burr, who sold between $628,000 and $1.72 million in stock, has denied allegations of wrongdoing, claiming he "relied solely on public news reports." After the FBI seized his cell phone, Burr stepped down as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, calling the scandal a "distraction."