Justice Dept. has closed insider trading investigation into Sen. Richard Burr without criminal charges

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Richard Burr says the Justice Department has told him it will not prosecute him over stock sales made during the coronavirus pandemic, ending an insider trading investigation that led him to at least temporarily step aside from a powerful committee chairmanship last year. Prosecutors had investigated for months whether the North Carolina Republican and former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee had exploited advance information when he unloaded as much as $1.7 million in stocks in the days before the coronavirus caused markets to plummet. Burr says “The case is now closed.” A Justice Department spokesman confirmed it would not bring charges but declined further comment.