Sen. Kelly Loeffler, Co-Owner Of WNBA's Atlanta Dream, Sold Millions In Stock After COVID-19 Briefing

Kelly Loeffler, Republican senator from Georgia and part owner of the WNBA's Atlanta Dream, reportedly sold between $1.2 million and $3.1 million worth of stock over three week beginning on the day of a closed-door briefing on COVID-19.

Loeffler reported the first sale of stock jointly owned by her and her husband on Jan. 24, the very day that her committee, the Senate Health Committee, hosted a private, all-senators briefing from administration officials, including the CDC director and Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on the coronavirus.

“Appreciate today’s briefing from the President’s top health officials on the novel coronavirus outbreak,” she tweeted about the briefing at the time.

All but two of Loeffler's transactions were sales. Loeffler did purchase between $100,000 and $250,000 in Citrix, a technology company that offers teleworking software and has seen a small increase in its stock price as a result of COVID-19's impact on the market.

Late Thursday night, Loeffler did offer a statement, tweeting: “This is a ridiculous and baseless attack. I do not make investment decisions for my portfolio. Investment decisions are made by multiple third-party advisors without my or my husband’s knowledge or involvement.

“As confirmed in the periodic transaction report to Senate Ethics, I was informed of these purchases and sales on February 16, 2020—three weeks after they were made.”

In the weeks after her spate of stock trades, Loeffler sought to downplay the public-health and financial threats posed by the coronavirus.

“Democrats have dangerously and intentionally misled the American people on #Coronavirus readiness,” she tweeted on Feb. 28. “Here’s the truth: @realDonaldTrump & his administration are doing a great job working to keep Americans healthy & safe.”

“Concerned about #coronavirus?” she tweeted on March 10. “Remember this: The consumer is strong, the economy is strong, & jobs are growing, which puts us in the best economic position to tackle #COVID19 & keep Americans safe.”