Sen. Loeffler defends COVID-19 stock trades: 'This is a 100 percent political attack'
Sandra Smith questions Senator Kelly Loeffler about criticism over financial trades she made after receiving classified briefings on coronavirus
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Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., once again responded to scrutiny of her stock trades that followed a briefing for senators on the threat of coronavirus, calling the criticism “a 100 percent political attack.”
“From day one, I have followed the letter and the spirit of the law,” Loeffler said on “America’s Newsroom” on Tuesday. “I have welcomed any questions about this.”
Critics, including Senate primary opponent Rep. Doug Collins, have suggested Loeffler may have engaged in insider trading based on her knowledge about the coronavirus crisis -- an accusation she has denied.
In March, news stories surfaced revealing that Loeffler and her husband sold stock on Jan. 24, the same day she sat in on a closed-door coronavirus briefing as a member of the Senate Health Committee with the Trump administration and with Dr. Anthony Fauci in attendance. On Tuesday, the Georgia senator defended herself once again responding to a question from host Sandra Smith.
“I want to ask you about your own reelection campaign in your state,” Smith said. “You face continued criticisms over those trades that were made at the onset of this outbreak after a classified briefing that you received.”
Smith acknowledged that Loeffler denied those claims, then pointed out that she’s spending “millions ... to shore up that campaign.”
“What is your message to voters?” Smith asked.
After calling the criticisms over the trades a “political attack,” Loeffler said, “The basis of everything that's been written is completely wrong.”
“I'm not going to let politics distract me from the work that I'm doing for Georgia, for families, for making sure that we can recover from this crisis together safely and securely as a country,” she continued.
“And my number one focus is working for Georgians. It's not politics and these political attacks are doing a disservice to our state and our country.”
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Last month, Loeffler -- who has said her accounts were managed by outside investment advisors -- announced the liquidation of all of her and her husband’s holdings in managed accounts.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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